


Infection

by vampiricconure



Category: Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-15
Updated: 2011-09-15
Packaged: 2017-10-23 18:36:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 24,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/253614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vampiricconure/pseuds/vampiricconure
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prowl and Sari are forced to travel interdimensionally when they're infected with a dimensional energy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Infection-CH 1

If it wasn’t the bitter afterglow of the fire she’d set using soggy wood, it was the chomping of her mount on the bit as it grazed where she tied it.

 

Mitch sat on her heels, a frustrated glower escaping from her hooded eyes. Saying she was annoyed with everything was an understatement. She was less than impressed by the situation, but added to the bloody glitches she was getting into, the damnable rain that never seemed to stop and the fact she was cross dimensions on another of her damnable gods’ missions... she might as well have not woken up at all today.

 

She cursed mentally for the hundredth time that day and looked over her shoulder to spy on her newest charges. There were two besides herself and her usual companion, a red feathered beast that looked like an oversized bird. The youngest of her charges was a female human named Sari. She lay under tough skin blankets, sound asleep. The journey had been a tough one, especially for a human as young as she. The other - Mitch never could get his name right - was a black and gold robot named Prowl. He was tall, dark and currently locked in some sort of meditation. Mitch sighed. Anything that kept her world quieter and more predictable the the better. Convincing the robot she was the real deal was damn near a miracle, but she wasn’t going to question his logic. Why? Barging into some universe declaring to be some alternate universe’s jaguar god’s avatar was as logical as... giant robots. Nobody back on the base would believe her this time. Mind you, they saw the pack dragon she rode as a mount.

 

Mitch was driven from her thoughts by her close friend, who settled beside her in a frump of feathers and leather. The red feathered female blinked wearily several times before reaching over the fire to pull the kettle off the cooking tripod.

 

‘Any plans for tomorrow?’ Eerrel asked. The dribbling the kettle made as it filled the bird-lady’s horn cup grated on Mitch’s nerves, further darkening her mood. She lifted her shaggy head to stare up at her friend. She hated it when the Jaguar God forced her into this forsaken body.

 

‘If it stops raining, maybe. Bastards back at the base wouldn’t give us the bloody supplies we needed and we’re suffering for their stupidity. As usual.’ If she could have spit, she would have. Instead an annoyed growl rose from her lips. Her friends at base weren’t the problem, it were the morons in command. Sure Mitch had to sneak around, but she was SUPPOSED to have some of those supplies Dan and the kids compensated for. She could have killed for some cigarettes, too. Despite all the careful cover ups, they didn’t always get the basics they needed.

 

Fucking bastards, Mitch grumbled to herself.

 

It was at the sound of the conversation that the mecha behind them opened his eyes briefly. He eyed them carefully, then drifted back into whatever he was doing. Mitch scowled at the sound he made - damn near nothing for something his size - but she cringed anyway. Everything screamed with her animal senses. The ticking his eyes made when he blinked was enough to make her crawl walls. She took a less than polite grab at her backpack for some elk jerky, desperate to vent some of her frustration on something dead.

 

As she bit into the tough rations, Eerrel pulled up a small stone and tapped it. Immediately it began to glow and an image of a list appeared. Mitch flinched slightly. She never did get used to magic and she’d seen damn near everything being Teppy’s avatar for the past 40 years.

 

Yeah. Teppy. His actual name was Aztec in origin. Tepeyollotli was a night god who was a patron of jaguars. Mitch had been a rancher at the time, recently retired from the American military. She’d been out looking for the pain in the ass that’d been eating her calves. She’d found the culprit - a Hefty male jaguar worth a hell of a lot of cash on the black market. Then BAM! She’d been possessed, lectured and condemned to be Tepeyollotli’s minion until he tired of her or she paid off her debt to him for killing one of his sacred animals. Then she’d met Eerrel’s sister, then as time wore on, Eerrel. They taught her about dimension travel, shamans and how not to piss off the gods. And boy, she’d pissed off a lot, not including that Jesus dude the Mexican Catholics always rambled on about.

 

Now Mitch was stuck on another world, older than dirt but never aging, trying to prevent some nasty illness the robot picked up from contaminating another frigging universe. It was all quite logical if you could look past the fact she was a god damn furry every time she did Teppy’s dirty work.

 

It would have been a kind deed to kill them both, Mitch thought as Eerrel went through the list, written in a squiggly language called Ethananian. Kinder, but a pain in the ass to clean up. She figured Teppy would appreciate that she did things herself this time. The mecha, despite a history with space barnacles (WTF were they anyway?), was doing quite well with whatever the hell he was infected with. The human, Sari, was a possible carrier as well. Eerrel had suggested a neutral zone to contain them and the mess that had landed them in a dimension not of their own. That had led Mitch to speak to her old pals back at the base she used to work at. Jaguar God Avatar was a story unto itself, but in the end her pals were forced to believe her and she didn’t end up as some lab’s freak show experiment. Teppy was good that way. He protected her ass when she needed to do his work.

 

Eerrel scrolled down the list using her clawed fingers as if the list were a touch screen computer. Things she didn’t need were scratched off. When she was done, she eyed her jaguar-faced companion with bright golden eyes.

 

‘What do we do from here?’ Eerrel asked. ‘We’re on the borders of three universes, one of which is quite wild. Secluded enough that they won’t contaminate anything until we can disinfect them. But it’ll be a mess if we need help. The energies guarding the place are chaotic, too.’ Her thin brows furrowed as she considered her options. ‘Plus we have to worry about ourselves if we become infected. We can handle the taint but for how long before help arrives?’

 

‘There’s always Tep’ Mitch stated plainly.

 

‘You KNOW how unpredictable he is. As you’ve said in the past, Mitch -’

 

The jaguar growled.

 

“I know, I know. We’re better off handling things ourselves.’

 

Eerrel sighed, scratching the feathers under her chin.

 

‘The other option is to let the infection incubate then pass them onto an alternate universe. That would force them to find forms that can fight the infection.’

 

‘And do the same shit to them that Teppy did to me? Are you mad?’

 

Eerrel snorted, immune to the hard, cold glare the two got from the robot behind them.

 

‘I said an ALTERNATE universe, not a new dimension. Slip them somewhere where they can handle the infection, have them change forms then pop them back where they came from. ‘

 

‘But if they’re allowed to change..’

 

‘Sari will be okay. At least if she’s a carrier.’ Organics could handle the problems of cross dimensional travel better than mechs. ‘Prowl on the other hand...’ The two of them looked behind them when they heard the robot sigh.

 

‘We have a say in your plans I hope.’ Prowl said calmly.

 

Mitch slitted her eyes.

 

‘Whuddya know. Ninja-bot speaks.’ she said, sarcasm dripping from her words. She got up, taking a deliberate and famished chunk out of her elk jerky. The robot had an annoying habit of being damn near impossible to piss off. He spoke...just ... she couldn’t put a finger on it. It was like talking to a frigging Budhist monk or something. Eerrel didn’t have that problem but Eerrel could find honey in a barrel full of shit.

 

Eerrel took a sip of her tea, then closed up the glowing rock list with a tap of a finger. She stretched out her legs, yawned and cradled her horn mug as if her very happiness depended on its contents. The rock she’d been using was tossed to the stubby grass between her feet.

 

‘Technically, yes. You do have a say, but considering our options there’s not much we can do.’. Her eyes sparkled as she thought. ‘ Once incubation of the infection starts we can’t stop it. If it gets into a multi verse system ... you know yourself what invasive species can do to an unprotected ecosystem. It starts in one world taking down everything. We can’t have that happening to your home world.’

 

Mitch watched the pair, easily chewing through the boot leather-like meal.

 

‘Like bloody hell.’ She said, swallowing. ‘Lets put it this way. The shit you’re carrying will make Ebola look like a kid’s birthday party and it’s not going to stick to humans and apes.’

 

Prowl simply stared at the jaguar, mild comprehension in his expression. If he was worried, he wasn’t showing it.

 

‘What’s Ebola?’ were his only words.

 

Explains why he didn’t look worried, Mitch thought, rolling her eyes.

 

‘Makes your insides turn to mush,’ was her response. The robot’s raised eyebrows were the closest she got to panic. Bloody Buddhist Nun chuck Monk Manners, I swear, she thought with irritation. She bit her tongue - it took enormous will power to prevent her from repeating it out loud.

 

The infection the two strangers were carrying was scary and could be lethal to the carriers. Infection was easy. In some worlds the infections were in everything - the air, the dirt, the food you ate. Most worlds, if you stayed around long enough, you became immune to the pathogens. It was the same idea on the ranch. Every so often you got sick, but the bugs in the soil weren’t a problem. You became immune to them. But sometimes a new animal came in and ruined the health of everyone, sometimes to the point that only the introduced animal was the only animal alive. Same idea with these two. They got shot through a time storm into a new world, found their way back home then got carted back OUT of their home world by Eerrel and herself.

 

The first world the emcha and child had been in was known for having nasty energy residues. Once contaminated, their energies became tainted. If they could fight off the bulk of infection, which Prowl was able to do thus far, they were a dangerous annoyance. If the infection could be contained long enough to wipe their energy signatures clean, they could be returned to their home world. The down side was that Prowl’s infection was already imbedded. Mitch knew what the signs were - odd coloring starting on the arms or other extremities, the aura turning a murky yellow. Weakness, not being able to keep up with usual activities. Eerrel was already medicating the robot to keep the infection from knocking him out completely. If he’d not been able to contain the infection himself he’d have died weeks ago. Sari, too. There was no standard name for the illness though the Ethananians called it something like ‘World Bane’.

 

Might have just called it ‘We’re-fucked-itis’ Mitch grumbled. She’d personally seen the illness lay waste to entire solar systems, moving from planet to planet, then entire regions. Teppy had shown her entire worlds where nothing survived. She was lucky he’d possessed her or she’d have never been able to handle the complete and utter wastelands she encountered time after time after time. Creatures dying, stars eroding, then everything collapsing into ...

 

....nothing. Absolutely nothing. No energy readings, no life, no ability to create life. It was as if the Gods themselves gave up hope.

 

All it took was one infection and she’d be damned to let the metallic bastard infect another universe. She’d have killed him, but Teppy had other plans. Besides the infection couldn’t be contained by death. It just moved to another host and the human female who came with the mecha would have been the next target for his already stained energy. She was infected, but she would ahve absorbed his infected energy into her own. Mitch, being an Avatar, was granted special ‘gifts’. Not being able to be infected by ‘World Bane’ was one of those properties she was glad to have. Eerrel was immune to the infection herself, though Teppy may have granted her with similar anti-infectious abilities by osmosis. Eerrel and Mitch worked so closely with each other that sometimes they thought as one unit. Even their mounts seemed immune.

 

Mitch turned her back to her companions to eye her riding dragon who was now stretched out on his belly, scratching his head against the tree he was tied to. She could feel the hum of magical charms on his harness. Charmed against fire damage of course - she couldn’t live without her leathers and he was too damn good a mount to sell to some random nutter.

 

She heard Prowl move behind her. He rose stiffly to his full height. He was huge - easily two stories tall, though he hunched slightly as the infection slowly ate away at his strength. He stretched again then settled back into an altered form of his previous position. How something so bloody big could move like a cat she could never wrap her head around. She’d seen him in action and was amazed that he could take down something bigger than he was as fast as he did.

 

Fucking Gawd Damn Ninja Shit Monk Training, the jaguar thought to herself. It was a comon thought these days. She admitted - she was envious of the robot’s moves. Whatever he was doing to keep the infection contained, she hoped he could keep it up. Sonuvabitch has will of steel to keep the infection contained this long, she thought, taking another bite of her jerky. Pun intended, she added briskly.

 

She turned when she heard the mecha groan. He shuddered and laid on his side, trembling. His was wrapped in a mild agony that washed his frame in exhaustion. Eerrel shot the jaguar a frustrated look and was at the mecha’s side to read his energy signature. She started laying her hands on his stomach, eyes closed tight with concentration. A minute passed before she spoke.

 

‘We have to move him soon. We can’t keep him here much longer.’ Her voice was clipped, holding back emotion.

 

‘He’s not going to die on us before the gates open, I hope’ Mitch grumbled. ‘I don’t think we can dig a hole big enough for him.’

 

Eerrel shot the jaguar an angry glance.

 

‘No Mitch,’ she said, stroking the mecha’s head. His trembling had reduced to an occasional shiver though his eyes under the visor were still closed. Whatever concentration he had worked dilligently to stoke had been blown in a single moment of weariness.

 

‘The next gate opens tomorrow.’ Mitch stated. She sounded bored. ‘I’ll do my mojo over him so you can recover.’

The red bird eyed the resting mecha, holding his chin slightly as she inspected his energy signature another time.

 

‘He’s going to be quite ill if we wait longer.’ Eerrel stated. ‘He’s weakening fast.’

 

Mitch nodded. ‘Then tomorrow we move. Let Sari sleep as long as she needs. It’s going to be a long day once we get going.’

**** **** ****


	2. Chapter 2

**** **** ****

Mitch was busy smoking her second cigarette when Sari piped up, her mess of red hair still uncombed from her long sleep. Bits of dried grass and leaves were embedded in her pig tails.

‘We're going where?’

Prowl was attempting to reason with her. Mitch quietly listened in as she saddled the dragon she rode, nibbling the end of her cigarette as she pulled the saddle’s cinch tight. The argument had brightened her mood considerably and she couldn’t help smirk as she worked. Finding the lone cigarette among her crap had been a miracle much appreciated.

‘They’re bringing us some place safe. It’s another world. So we won’t infect the others.’

The human child grimaced, defiant. She was not impressed with the whole scheme and was making the ailing mecha suffer for it. She crossed her arms and glowered at Prowl, who paused in mid word. He shook his head, frustrated with Sari’s stubbornness.

‘We’re going to drag ourselves across another planet and possibly get killed with complete weirdoes backing us up,’ she stated in a deadpan tone. Mitch had to crack a smile. I think I’m beginning to like this kid.

‘I would rather we be somewhere safe.’ Prowl continued. Mitch had to admit - she would have strangled the kid by now or at least scalped her bald. Images of the kid screaming while Mitch shore her carrot top with a large hunting knife danced through her head like a favored song. The mecha had the patience of a saint.

‘Something like that.’ Mitch stated, slinging the dragon’s reins over her shoulder. ‘It’s safer overall and we can control your pal’s problem better if he’s not getting everyone sick at the same time. ‘ She tightened the cinch one last time before heaving the first of the supply packs over the dragon’s rump. Why did she have to speak so simply to the brat?

Eerrel was busy putting out the fire. She eyed Prowl carefully as he attempted to rise. His movements were stiffer today, a note that Mitch’s military training and Eerrel’s extensive multi species medical experience failed to miss.

‘He going to make it?’ she hollered to Eerrel, spitting out the last of her cigarette and smothering it with the toe of her dark leather boot.

Eerrel eyed the mecha, who leaned heavily against a tree. ‘Yeah.’ She said, stuffing the last of the supplies into a large leather trail pack. ‘You need more time to rest, Prowl?’ she asked, heaving the cooking tripod over her back.  
Mitch cut off the bird-like woman.

‘We can’t wait longer. It’s do or die today.’ Her response made Eerrel frown, but she rose to lay a hand on Prowl’s foot.

‘We’re going to take it slow so you can keep up’ she said. ‘Normally we have mounts for everyone, but as you’re so big -’

Prowl could only muster a weak nod, his eyes closed under his visor.

Mitch, finished with her packs, heaved herself up into the saddle.

‘How close can you get us to the safe zone?’ she asked her bird-like companion. Safe zones were noted areas around gates wherecross dimentional portals could open and the openers not get zapped by the gate guardians if an emergency arose. She wheeled her mount towards Sari and heaved her into the saddle with a single sweeping motion. Mitch didn’t even think as she did it. She’d spent so many decades hauling calves onto her saddle she did it as naturally as if it were breathing. She ignored Sari’s surprised squeak then kicked the dragon into a fast trot. She headed towards the dirt trail they’d been following the day before. She slowed her mount to wait for the mecha and the bird-lady to follow. Eerrel shape shifted into a red feathered dragon and loped off the jaguar, stopping every so often to watch the mecha. Even in his weakened state Prowl could keep a good clip simply because he was so big.

‘It’s a 10 minute walk to the forest sands. ‘ Eerrel stated. She spoke as a parrot would, using her throat and tongue to form the words rather than her lips. ‘I don’t know what we’re going to give him to keep the cramps in check.’

Mitch snorted. Crossing dimensions wasn’t as straight forward as fantasy books claimed. It was dangerous, messy and sometimes you couldn’t get the supplies you needed. Or doors opened in the middle of lakes. If you didn’t take medications to prevent yourself from becoming say... human to an eight legged freak in order to survive the new world, the transformation was slow, agonizing and a nightmare to describe to the local doctors ...if they didn’t think you were nuts in the first place. She’d seen enough cases go bad under Teppy’s guidance that she had made a firm and fast rule - Eerrel always had numbroot and sage to kill the transformations.

Thing was the damnable mecha HAD to change this time to help him bite his infection. Problem was - it wasn’t like she could feed the mecha a bushel of sage.

Gawd damn inconvenient piece of shit situation, Mitch muttered to herself. If only we knew what to give him. I don’t plan on hearing him scream for six hours.

Eerrel seemed to read her mind. In her dragon form, who knew. She probably was.

‘We could make a tincture. Tap a node and feed him the energy. It’s worked in the past.’ She paused, flicking her feathered ears in thought. ‘He’ll be sick after, though.’

‘Eerrel,’ Mitch hissed. ‘Considering the situation I don’t give a shit.’ It was either he suffered for a few days or his entire frigging universe suffered. Just like in battle - sometimes one had to die for the whole.

The walk was silent after that. The only sound was the loud thumping of the mecha behind them and the wind rustling the landscape. Eventually they came to a rickety, carved fence decorated with roses and trees.

Eerrel shape shifted back into her bird-like form and pulled off her pack. The pack had been absorbed by her body as she shifted, acting as an extra source of energy for her body. She handed Sari a small biscuit. The human immediately wrinkled her nose.

‘I hate these things’ she said and half heartedly nibbled at the pungent bread.

Prowl chuckled. It was a thin sound which was immediately followed by the sound of him sitting on the forest floor. If it was because he was too weak to stand or it was more comfortable for him when listening to everyone Mitch wasn’t sure.

Mitch dismounted, her fuzzy face furrowed in concentration.

‘As long as you eat it. It’s going to be bad enough Prowl can’t have any. ‘

‘He’s not going to die or something equally stupid?’ she asked between mouthfuls. ‘The key doesn’t work here.’

Mitch froze. By Teppy did she ever feel god damn stupid all of a sudden.

They Key. The effing Key that Sari had been bragging about for days.

‘I’m a moron!’ she snapped and wheeled to face Eerrel. It was a good thing her fur covered up her embarrassed blush.

‘What?’ Sari asked. She scowled at the jaguar and bird lady between chews.

Mitch planted her forehead in the palm of her hand. A deep sigh rose from her, becoming a frustrated growl. She’d completely forgotten about the universe these two had come from.

Talk about inconvenient utter bullshit. I swear I don’t use my brain some days.

The key Sari carried was a healing agent in her world. It could resurrect dead mecha though as the pair had passed into this universe, the key stopped working. Mitch realized that this oversight would have made her life a living hell had they’d not found a robot version of sage. Another damnable disaster averted!

The jaguar stood beside the human child and scratched the mount’s coarse skin with a claw. The glint in her feral eyes made the eight year old draw back in alarm.

‘I have a proposition to ask.’ the jaguar said, her words calculating.

Sari clutched the key and glowered at Mitch, drawing back even further. The wall of distrust between the two could be scanned from space it was so thick.

‘What do you want?’ She said, finishing the last of the biscuit.

‘That key of yours heals robots, right?’ Mitch licked her lips.

‘You can’t have it.’

‘Even to save Prowl?’

The child paused, thinking hard.

‘Here’s my problem.’ Mitch continued, not giving the child a chance to respond. ‘Prowl needs the key to heal the infection. You have the infection, too, but if Prowl can be cured we won’t have to worry about you. The key will heal both of you because your energies... your life forces... are connected. You can go home, safe, to your friends and father.’

A defiant pout was Mitch’s response.

‘ I told you - We’ve already tried it.’ Sari stated, arms crossed against her chest again. ‘It didn’t work. It’s a waste of time.’

Mitch grinned wider. Her voice took on a deceptively friendly tone.

‘Maybe not here, but perhaps in another universe. We’ll keep trying until it does work. It has to work somewhere and there’s a hell of a lot of places we can go. You continue being the guardian of the key. If Prowl trusts you with it and that Optimus fella - I have to admit you are sly enough to be its protector. All I ask is that when we need to use it that you let us borrow its power. It’s to save Prowl’s life. And yours.’ She paused. ‘I’d hate to see both of you stranded away from people you love. Do we have a Deal?’

Sari eyed the jaguar, then held out a hand for the jaguar to shake.

‘Deal.’ she said. The jaguar failed to notice the crossed fingers behind her back.

‘Good.’ Mitch swung to face Eerrel. ‘Change of plans. Were going to an AU. ‘

‘AU? An alternate universe?’ The dragon cocked her feathered head. ‘What you planning Mitch?’

The jaguar laughed a deep, feral laugh.

‘We’ve got the fate of the multiverse on our shoulders, Eerrel dear. We’re going to see if the child’s key works in a reality similar to their own. Open a door and lets travel. We don’t want to keep their friends waiting. I’m sure they’re worried enough with their mysterious disappearance.’

Eerrel purred an amused sound, then began raising energy where the gate door would have been on the old fence.

‘An AU it is, then. Stand back folks, this is going to be a a bit of work.’ The air around them thrummed with energy that became thicker and heavier as Eerrel concentrated. With a sudden explosion of light a glowing door formed, the insides sparkling like the night sky. Eerrel shaped the door mentally until it was large enough on the physical plane for even Prowl to walk through. When she was done she motioned everyone through the door.

‘AU number five sixty five. We’re in a secluded area on earth. That way we won’t get out tail feathers shot off if Decepticons arrive. or Borg.’ She smirked. Dimentional travel was dangerous and the less attention they attracted the better. ‘I think there’s Borg here.’

Mitch, ignoring most of Eerrel’s speech, grabbed the reins of her mount and walked the dragon through he door. The bird-like lady sighed, then motioned Prowl through. When he passed through the door of stars, Eerrel followed behind. She gave the old universe one last look before draining the gate of its energy.


	3. Chapter 3

‘The Fucking key doesn’t work here, either.’

Eerrel was caught off guard by Mitch’s tone.

‘It... what?’

Mitch threw the cup she was drinking from. It flew several feet, hit a tree trunk and bounced explosively against it. Images of the repeated failures flashed through her head like bad hallucinations. The key transforming to fit the mecha’s key hole. The sight of the key being turned. Then..nothing. NOTHING. Nothing... too many god time times to count. Teppy said he had plans for those two.

‘We travelled three dimensions to find out that the damn key doesn’t work.’ She snapped, jabbing a finger at Sari’s rough location. The child and her mecha companion were fishing on the sandy riverbank, the mecha giving the human one of his ever patient lessons. Prowl was putting on a brave face despite the repeated failures and at the child’s persistence had gone fishing for dinner. Mitch ignored the annoyed stare Sari gave the jaguar from her perch. At this point, Mitch could fucking care less about everything and she was letting the universe know it. Teppy’s plans be damned. She hoped the next fish choked on the key if Sari fell in.

Eerrel blinked, then continued peeling the large yellow tuber in her claws. ‘It doesn’t work here, so we have to find another universe where it does.’

‘Give it up, Eerrel.’ Mitch snarled, scratching the top of her muzzle in a frustrated gesture. It was more to help her focus on something besides killing someone that to actually relieve an itch. ‘It’s not worked three times. We can’t keep forcing Prowl through these gates. It probably works only in their world and anything we do is going to earn us jack shit.’

The bird paused in her work to sigh deeply, then looked up at the jaguar.

‘Then we work on another solution. I was worried something like this would happen so I sent a message out to an old friend.’

Mitch’s stare was glassy and cold as she glared at the bird. Her arms were crossed as if blocking an invisible force field from disturbing her mood further. At this point, breathing was going to ruin what little humor she had left. She stared out a second time at to the Mecha and the human child. It was a wonder how the child was taking the situation so well when she and her friend could end up dying.

‘Remember Jazz?’ the bird said calmly.

The jaguar was startled out of her thought. I’ll be hammered shit!

Eerrel smiled, as if reading the jaguar’s mind. ‘Yeah. That one.’

Jazz. Mitch remember him all right. He’d been badly injured when Eerrel found him. He’d been tracked back to Eerrel’s home world and healed back to health. He’d been shot to hell, barely able to move and with wounds that needed a node to keep closed. Not a small feat for something his size and the fact Eerrel had broken inter dimensional laws bringing him back had not gone unnoticed. He’d been abandoned by his comrades in the heat of battle, thought long dead. He did survive. Granted, it took several years and he did return to his people a much changed mecha. It was discovered that his time in Ethanania had tainted him so that he no longer ... what were the words... ‘sang true’. Every dimension hummed differently when you crossed gates. It was similar in atmosphere as say, hopping from an apartment to a cottage in a blink of an instant. Both would feeling like buildings but just by nature of where the buildings were located they would have a different presence. Leave something in one of those environments long enough and that object would hum differently, too. So it happened with Eerrel’s injured charge. His energy imprint altered and he ended up being extra sensitive to certain elements in his old universe. He couldn’t stay in his home dimension but managed to find an alternate universe to move to so he could still visit friends.

‘He’s not a key carrier’. Eerrel continued, chopping up her peeled tubers. ‘But he’s as close as we’re going to get to one. He’s carrying the Matrix of leadership.’

‘You mind speaking english?’ Mitch stated. Never could keep these god damn alternate universes straight, she thought.

‘The Matrix.’ When it continued to draw a blank look from the jaguar, Eerrel gently tapped her feathered chest with her fist. ’ Same thing in the key, only another universe’s version of it. The power to create life and heal it. Only it’s not in a key. It’s a relic that Autobot leaders wear in their chest.’

Mitch nodded, ‘So rather than dragging him,’ she said, throwing a half hearted gesture in Prowl’s direction, ‘all over the known Multiverse, we’re -’

‘-Going to keep him here and have Jazz come help us.’ Her teeth shone in the campfire’s glow. ‘And he can’t be infected, Mitch. He’s already immune.’

‘You’re fucking brilliant, Eerrel.’

‘I know. You wouldn’t have put up with me if I wasn’t.’

The sound of Sari arguing with Prowl in the background distracted the two anthros. Eerrel started the chopped tubers over the fire, adding a small bag of dried meat as she spoke.

‘I’ll leave tomorrow morning. There’s no guarantee that he’ll be able to come, but if he does, make sure Prowl is drugged up. The worst of the pains will be starting soon.’

Mitch nodded.

‘As long as we get the pair cleaned up. That contraption of his better be able to do what we can’t.’


	4. Chapter 4

Mitch left the human child and Prowl once they were asleep. Eerrel was out, too, but would awake at the slightest hint of disturbance even from a deep sleep so Mitch knew the mecha and Sari would be safe. Mitch took little time crossing from the physical plane to the ethereal and immediately floated through the distorted landscape to speak to Teppy.

The mere thought of him brought her to his side. Tepeyollotl was as impressive as always, dressed in jaguar skins as he leaned over a pool of water. It was this pool through which he observed the lives of the living. His dark, obsidian leg shimmered brightly in the realm’s eerie glow. Immediately aware of the avatar’s presence, he motioned towards Mitch without looking up from his chore. Mitch obeyed and stood beside him as a human. She wore her ranch clothes - a long, black polyester rain jacket, black boots and a black cowboy hat. Her hair was tied up in a pony tail, the length of which fell mid way down her back.

‘There’s great powers in these worlds,’ he said to her, his voice deep. His words were accented with languages long since deceased yet his every breath brought new insight to them, as if they were to be recycled into something new. Each breath at the tip of his tongue brought promise.

‘I have an admission,’ he said, finally standing to his full height. He may have appeared human, but his size was that of a God. His eyes, bright like those of the sun, blinked, proud with his avatar. ‘I’ve had plans for your friends.’

‘I suspected something was up when you wouldn’t tell me what was going on.’ Mitch said, still peering into the pool of water.

Teppy’s look was mildly surprised.

‘This is why I keep you, Mitch.’ the God said. ‘Though your attitude still needs adjusting. You’re smart. Independent. Honorable when it serves you a purpose. I chose well.’

‘Thank you Lord.’ Mitch said with a smile. ‘ And I’m a complete pain in the ass.’ . The smile widened when Tepeyollotl laughed. It was a deep sound that echoed like the growl of an amused, large cat. The world shook slightly as he rumbled. He was the God of echoes, earthquakes and jaguars after all.

‘Yes, that, too.’ He said. He motioned towards the pool, pointing to several mecha and humans whose images overlapped. As a God, Teppy could see and read several items at once. To Mitch’s simple animal mind it came across like several complex photographs overexposed for too long. Understanding the situation Mitch was in, Tepeyollotl waved his hand over the water and the images became clearer. The first was of several mecha. Teppy gently tapped the pool’s liquid with his finger tips.

‘These strangers are Prowl and Sari’s friends,’ he said. They stood surrounding an older human, arguing over where to search next. ‘We’re going to help them. I’d like to hear what what we should do.’

Mitch had to blink, shocked. She noticed she’s been getting surprised a lot lately.

‘You... you’re asking ME?’

‘You have all the answers. Tell me something.’

Mitch’s immediate thoughts were less than holy, a fact that didn’t pass Tepeyollotl’s senses.

‘If you don’t have a reason for my actions, then I will tell you,’ he continued, more serious this time. ‘Sari’s key is important to my universes, not just hers. We can heal her friends even though they’ve encountered no infection. There will be an infection. There is no denying that. The Decepticons will hear about this new danger and will use this knowledge against everyone they encounter. Jazz’s Matrix ...’ The God’s form flickered to become mecha - a giant planet sized one had he’d been true to scale - before falling back into his role of Tepeyollotl. ‘His Matrix is the healing agent in my new universe. I plan to rule the Cybertron Prowl knows. The only way to prevent his Decepticons and their potential allies destroying something I have not set foot in is to infect it. ‘

‘So... that’s why Prowl and Sari were allowed to cross dimensions. ‘ Mitch muttered. ‘You wanted an excuse to mix the key’s all spark energy with the Matrix.’

‘You are correct.’

‘But, a question Lord.’ Mitch said. There was something that knawed away at her conscious like a rat at good peanut butter. ‘Why not just walk in, take over by force and kick the ... er... bastards to the edges of the multiverse?’

‘The lives of too many are at stake and I would rather not interfere with the free will of so many.’

‘Yet you want to take over a planet and become their God.’

‘You question my motives too often, Mitch.’

‘It’s my job as your avatar, Lord Tepeyollotl. Like I said, I’m a pain in the ass.’

‘You do a good job at both I fear.’

There was a moment of silence as the pool’s surveillance continued. The argument between mecha and the older human had since simmered down, providing an uncomfortable silence between God and avatar.

Mitch was the first to break the wall of quiet.

‘Does Jazz know of this? He is a Matrix carrier. ‘ Matrix carriers had a direct link to their God, Primus. If anyone knew of the impending chaos, it would be Jazz.

‘He will know. So will Prowl. I intend on merging their universes. Prowl will be the next Matrix bearer when Jazz passes.’

‘The... huh?’

The God’s words echoed throughout the pool’s realm, causing the water to ripple with the force of his words. The meaning behind them slapped Mitch. Teppy’s plans were often complex, with plans behind plans behind more plans. This was the first she’d heard of him merging universes. She thought only Quetzalcoatl could do that. Son of a bugger always contradicts himself. How the hell is he -’

‘You question my motives again, Mitch.’

‘I know. I’m shovelling crap where there shouldn’t be any. Bear with me. How are you going to merge universes without stepping on the free will of the masses? I have to ask if you need me to do my job right.’

The God laid a hand on his avatar’s shoulder, a grin wide on his tanned face.

‘As the christians say, trust in your Lord, child. Trust in your Lord. You’ll have the answers with time.’

The question was, Mitch thought, in her time or his? Last she knew Gods lived damn near forever.

 

**** **** ****


	5. Chapter 5

Mitch paced impatiently by the camp fire, her boots making a soggy slotching sound as she tracked though the same ditch she’d traced for an hour. Eerrel was late - again - and Mitch was at her wits end. Behind her Prowl was in a heap, silent after a fitful night of unrest. The groans of discomfort had subsided with the pains, a feat Mitch damn near celebrated with gunfire. Sari’s damnable key still refused to work in this universe, which had left mecha, Sari and jaguar with one option while Eerrel was out on her errand - force feeding Prowl the questionable herb medication they’d devised. They didn’t know if it had made him feel worse of had no effect at all as being a mecha meant his diet was very different from everyone else’s. Eerrel had left the task of energy tapping to Mitch before she’d left. That meant opening a pool of energy, or node, and forcing the mecha’s head back as Mitch forcefully poured the bizzare concoction down his throat. Sometimes having the strength of a God behind her jaguar form came in handy. It had helped that Sari cheered them on the whole time.

Mitch shoved a stump on its end with a foot before seating herself heavily on the worn wood. Even begging Teppy for help had been fruitless, even after she had visited him a second time. The God did help with healing when she needed it but this time there was only one answer - he had a plan. Divine nature was fleeting and Mitch was weary with her God’s apparent reluctance to help. No... he wanted to help but she got the feeling Prowl’s suffering was an initial part of a greater cause. She eyed Prowl with a hint of frustration. She admired the mecha and his stubbornness. He had a quiet quality to him that reminded of herself when she was a child, even more so when he had sputtered up his medication. Through pure willpower he seemed to contain his infection, which was more than she could say about others she had come across in the past. Some she had to kill outright. It was not a task she took - or could- take lightly. She was glad there was chance of cure in this case even if Teppy was sitting on his ass. She couldn’t fathom killing the child, Sari, either.

She heard a disturbance behind her. Immediately Mitch swung to her feet and had her weapon out, cocked and ready for action. It was an automatic reaction after decades of combat. At first she thought it was Sari, wrapped up in her blankets and sleeping deeply, but relaxed when she heard Eerrel hiss and whisper something Ethananian.

‘Re’bag eearah, Mitch!’ she said. We’re here!

It was hard to miss the pale blue dress the bird wore. It almost glowed in the evening light, giving the impression of a ghost floating among the bramble.

‘Did he come?’ the jaguar asked, her words clipped with impatience. I’ll strangle the bastard myself if he didn’t .

Eerrel gave a sharp nod. ‘We had to get around security. They’re always a pain in the ass to work with. He’s made leader! You should see the protective protocols in place now!’

Mitch snorted, picking up a stick to poke the campfire. She had forgotten to tell Eerrel what Teppy ahd already told her. Leader. Leader also meant Secret Service. Crap. Bloody military was a pain in the ass on every effing planet she’d been to. Didn’t matter if it was cyborg, dragon or vampire. Everything ended up as one fucking huge FUBAR in the end.

Eerrel motioned behind Mitch, who turned. It was creepy to suddenly see the large white and black mecha behind her, already kneeling beside Prowl. She could catch the faint whiff of alien musk come off him. Apparently the mecha had been prepared to go out when Eerrel found him. If Eerrel’s pale blue dress had glowed in the dark this mecha’s white paint screamed as if he was under a strobe light. He had made no noise. Nothing. How a 2 story tall mecha missed her senses beyond smell, she could only blame on magic. With a toss of her leather jacket she marched towards the pair, the jaguar’s annoyance barely hidden. He’d done the same thing the last time they’d met.

‘I wish you would stop doing that!’ the jaguar snapped.

Jazz smiled, a slight tilt of his head. He rested on one knee, using his fist to balance himself.

‘Do what?’ he asked, his voice coy.

‘Asshole. ’

Mitch made her way around Prowl’s shoulder and climbed his side to sit on his chest. Contrasted to Jazz’s spicy scent, Prowl smelt of pounded herbs and earth. It was different from when she had first found him. He had arrived with a pungent, sharp machine shop smell that hasn’t been offensive. Alien, but certainly not something she experienced daily. The smell was still there but like his energy readings, it had started to show signs of the infectious taint.

Mitch poked Prowl gently as she climbed, making sure he wouldn’t move when she sat down. He shuddered slightly but did not wake from his medication induced coma. Her jaguar form made her effort look easy and with lithe grace she pulled her legs underneath her. From out of her shirt’s chest pocket she pulled a large sample of what she’d given Prowl.

‘We had to invent the shit. So far its not killed him though he’s been rolling like a colicky horse all night.’

The white mecha turned to face the jaguar and carefully pulled the plastic canister from her grasp. When the jaguar held it, the container was huge. When Jazz held it, it was as if a human was playing with doll toys. He studied the canister, his blue, visored eyes reading its energy signature before handing it back to Mitch.

The jaguar continued.

‘We figured your... Contraption... would work better than the human’s. Eerrel’s told you about Sari, I expect.’ The mecha gave a slight nod, speechless. Mitch slid off Prowl’s chest and returned to the fire, an expression of frustration growing on her. ‘You’ve gone through this before, Jazz. Otherwise neither of us would have looked for you.’

‘I didn’t have the fate of the Multiverse on my shoulders when I was sick.’ he said calmly. He settled on his rump and gently lifted the darker mecha’s chin. ‘How long has he been like this?’

‘Two weeks,’ Eerrel said. ‘We’ve tried hopping dimensions, the key, the concoction. We’d bring him to Ethanania but I don’t plan on getting my tail feathers court marshaled. Bringing you there was one thing, but as you said, you didn’t have the fate of the multiverse on your shoulders.’

‘And being an avatar,’ Mitch spat, ‘ means jack squat when the God you work for keeps saying he has a ‘plan’ for these two. He refuses to heal them, whatever his damnable reasons are.’

Jazz smiled one of his wide grins.

‘I’ll try my best,’ he stated. ‘Can’t make promises.’ He looked over his shoulder to eye Sari who still slept. ‘That’s the human?’ He asked.

Eerrel nodded.

‘She’s been containing the infection, too. Prowl’s worse off though. Us organics are weird that way.’

Jazz was quiet again, then rose quickly to see the human child. He went magically unshielded as he moved. Sari woke with a start at his approach, then let out a blood curdling scream.

Mitch held her forehead in her hand. Eerrel laughed. Prowl stirred slightly but remained in his medicated coma.

‘I’ll take care of it,’ Eerrel said. With a rustle of feathers and ribbon she was gone and trotting towards the human and her ‘attacker’.

Mitch watched the bird wander off. Sari was already in fighting stance, ready to pummel Jazz into whatever pile she could muster. She was growling, bottom jaw sticking out with childish stubbornness and when Jazz didn’t back down, she went for him. She was quickly blocked by his forearm and hit the ground with an impressive thud. She got up and was in fighting stance again.

‘Where’s Prowl and what did you do with him?’ she piped.

Mitch didn’t hear the conversation after that. She stayed by Prowl and contemplated his situation. She didn’t know what she would do if he couldn’t be healed. His body was already adjusting to the new environment - every so often he heaved awkwardly, as if learning to breathe for the first time. Eerrel said Jazz had encountered difficulty with air intake when his biology shifted. She would have to speak to Jazz about his experiences if everyone was to remain sane. When Prowl awoke, he would need help healing and ...

FUCK, it would be easier if Teppy DID something. The jaguar sighed, this time with a weariness that ached her to her bones. Things would be better once she got some sleep. If she was lucky, Teppy would bore of her adventures and she’d wake up on the ranch again with some lucky SOB between her and the bed covers.

The jaguar stood, brushed the dust off her leathers, then made her way to the others. The argument was still heated though Sari was listening now. Jazz - whatever the mecha had said- had caught the 8 year olds’ attention and she was hooked on his every word.

‘You’re telling me,’ Sari stated in the characteristic tone that Mitch knew meant trouble. ‘That you can help Prowl even though my key can’t.’ Mitch had heard the stories Prowl told of her raiding the candy machine. And the toys that became alive. And saving her friends’ asses when everyone thought they died.

‘We think my Matrix... my All Spark... might be able to activate your key, ‘ he said. ‘The energy my Matrix produces would protect the key though it won’t be the same after I charge it. From the charge you can try to heal Prowl again. If it works, he’ll be..different. He would have to relearn some things.’

Eerrel frowned. ‘Jazz - the infection won’t taint your universe I hope? I’m not worried about you but your home world -.’

‘Primus energy, all the way.’ Jazz said. ‘I would have infected it and others by now if we were unstable. ‘ He tapped his chest. ‘He’s active back on Cybertron.’

Mitch suddenly felt like she was bitten by a very large jaguar.

Not like in some universes.

Teppy, you bastard! she thought. You WANT the energies to mix! THAT’s why the key wouldn’t work! She sighed. What’s your real plan, fuzz face? I can’t do your bidding if you won’t talk to me.

His only answer was the release of the biting sensation and laughter.

Asshole. Sometimes you’re harder to read than a Mare in heat.

‘Excuse me for the intrusion, ‘ Mitch stated with an annoyed yawn, finally making her way to the campfire and her pakcs. Screw the God for a night. She needed some rest before she could tackle the problems ahead of her. ‘ I have covers calling and we have a long day ahead of us. Rest while you can. ‘ She wanted to add Be warned. My God is fucking with your lives and I don’t know what he’s up to.

Jazz looked up at the jaguar.

‘Already? I just got here. I was hoping for a party.’

She gave the mecha leader the finger as she headed to her packs and waiting blankets.

‘Save the celebrations for tomorrow. Prowl’s already suffered enough without us talking him to death.’ She let a wry, toothy grin brighten her face for the first time that evening. ‘I have a feeling there’s going to be lots to talk about and today has already lost its light.’


	6. Chapter 6

Prowl’s head laid in Jazz’s lap while Sari watched intently. She held her key in her hands, ready to leap to her friend’s aid should he even look at her. Mitch was busy grinding incense with a mortar and pestle, her eyes locked hard on the ill mecha.

‘God damn stuff is a pain in the ass to grind. What you need this stuff for, Eerrel?’

The bird-like lady was beside Sari, reading the two mecha and the child’s energy signatures.

‘What do you say about Teppy? ‘We’re going to kiss ass and eat crow.’ I don’t want to piss off whatever energies Jazz and his Matrix use and this is the best way of doing it.’

‘You could have just said ‘Everyone is damned to die if you don’t help’.’

‘We are going to say that, but we have to do it politely.’

Mitch rolled her eyes. She hated how the magical world always seemed more complicated than it had to be. Mind you Mitch had delt with crap worse than this when in the military, so she wasn’t going to complain t0o long or too hard.

‘What am I supposed to do?’ Sari asked. She was holding back tears, a feat Mitch was admiring. Being alone in a strange universe with the only person you know sicker than a dying dog was scary. Not crying over it showed a great deal of will power.

Jazz opened up his chest compartment, exposing a chamber. Inside lay a large object. It was orange and silver with crystals glowing behind a round shield. It bore a passing resemblance to a planet with rings only there were finger grips in the rings. Jazz carefully removed the object and lay it in the grass, careful to not let the blades enter the chamber as it came to rest. He caressed it gently as he closed his chest compartment, as if it was a lover or perhaps a special family member.

Sari stared at it, her eyes huge. The Matrix was easily the size of her head. Earlier she had gone on about the All Spark and how it could have helped Prowl if they could get back home. Jazz had laughed and teased the child about how he wasn’t going to have anything exciting to discover if he came to visit her. Now.. now he was more serious and his smile tense.

‘Sari,’ Jazz said. ‘This is the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. ‘ He held it so Sari could take a closer look. ‘Remeber - like the All Spark it heals and creates life. It also chooses new Autobot leaders. That’s why I’m-’

‘Jazzimus Prime’ a tenor voice said from the shadows of the trees. Immediately Jazz was on his feet, weapons drawn and ready for battle. Mitch cocked an eyebrow at the speed in which he moved. If Prowl had been impressive, Jazz was even more so. He backed down as soon as he recognized the source of the voice. Mitch and Eerrel were also quick on their feet, but with Eerrel’s goading Mitch backed down. Whoever the voice was, Eerrel deemed it safe.

‘Trellis!’ Jazz hollered, surprise in his voice.

‘You’re a bastard, Jazz. Sneaking past us. You know we can’t leave you alone!’ A white and black mecha similar in build to Prowl walked out of the forest, his face grinning wide. ‘I told you that cloaking upgrade would get you into trouble!’

‘Um... Jazz?’ Sari said. ‘Who is this guy?’

Jazz lowered his head, shaking it. He pinched the bridge of his nose then smacked the strange mecha. Trellis returned the slap playfully.

‘My head security officer,’ he replied. ‘And my brother.’

Trellis lowered himself to get to Sari’s level and stretched out a finger for her to shake.

‘Head security officer Trellis on duty. I’m supposed to be guarding this bot’s scrawny hide.’ He stood. ‘Not so scrawny now that you’re boss bot,’ he said to Jazz, then chuckled.

Eerrel waved at the security officer.

‘Glad to see you again, Trellis. Sorry we had to play silly buggers on you but,’ She pointed at Prowl. ‘We had an emergency.’

Trellis immediately understood the gravity of the situation. He’d seen infections similar to Prowl’s before and he knelt by the Autobot to examine him closely.

‘Got him drugged I see.’

‘He’s been in pain for a while.’ Eerrel explained. ‘ Infection might be eating at him already. He’s complained of joint stiffness all day and we just couldn’t wait any longer.’

Trellis nodded, then moved out of the way as Jazz rescued the Matrix. Mitch grunted, about to comment about the intrusion but Eerrel passed her a dark glare. The jaguar sighed, then moved to let Trellis join his sibling. Jazz motioned for Sari to follow and she trailed behind the Autobot leader with an air of confusion. Jazz lay the matrix on the blanket covering Prowl and helped Sari climb him. She held the key in her hand, waiting for her instructions.

Eerrel nodded at everyone.

‘Mojo time.’ she said. Once she got everyone’s attention she began humming. The air around them began to throb and a haze formed, blurring their view somewhat. Prowl groaned softly, attempting to pay attention to his surroundings but after a shiver he gave up. Mitch moved in with the incense and Eerrel lit a warm ball of energy in the bowl. Immediately the resin ignited, filling the air with perfumed scented smoke. Eerrel muttered something unintelligible then lifted the bowl slightly as if honoring something. A pause. Then she nodded at Sari.

‘It’s safe to use the key now. ‘

‘What do I do?’

Jazz passed a calm glance from Trellis to Sari then crouched to her level. ‘Place it here.’ he said, pointing to the relic’s inner chamber. ‘.. in the Matrix.’

Sari did as she was told. The key changed shape and a keyhole appeared inside the matrix where the crystals could be seen glowing. Sari plunged the key into the hole.

A shiver went through both objects, followed by a bright flash. The key began to shimmer and turned an electric blue before the Matrix shuddered a second time. The air hummed with power and it wasn’t long before the key returned to its normal state. However, the exposed electronics glowed the same color as the Matrix’s crystals. When it came to energy transfers, Mitch realized it was pretty tame.

Jazz sniffed after a pause. ‘That was rather anti climatic.’ He helped Sari pull the key out of the Matrix.

‘Interesting,’ he said as picked up the relic and eyed it critically. Satisfied that it wasn’t going to turn him into a zombie, he returned the relic to his chest.

Sari examined the key.

‘Feels weird.’ she said. ‘Like .. it knows me. It didn’t do that before.’

Jazz smiled and settled on his rump, one leg draped over the other.

‘The Matrix retains all memories of Primes past. It might have shared some of those memories with your key.’ He shrugged. ‘I don’t understand what it did, but that’s the most logical explanation.’

‘And it should be safe from the infection you and Prowl have.’ Mitch said. ‘All pleasantries aside kids. We need to move things along.’

Eerrel nodded and motioned Sari to Prowl’s chest. ‘Do your stuff, kiddo. If it doesn’t work we’re all in trouble.’

Sari grunted, about to complain, but did as she was told. She hovered the key over her friend like she’d done so many times before. Another keyhole appeared and she inserted her key. Closing her eyes, she turned it.

Nothing.

‘C’mon...’ she said, frustrated with the lack of response. ‘C’mon Prowl!’

She turned the key again. Nothing. A third turn and Prowl groaned. He shuddered as he felt his engine turn and he arched, his eyes flickering brighter with renewed power. There was a squealing noise which caused the other mecha to flinch - Mitch suspected it was a VERY BAD NOISE. She viewed the mecha’s energy taint out of concern. With a misty puff the yellow taint on his energy field shrank and was neutralized. Sari, who saw all this first hand and without aid of magic (How the hell she did it, Mitch could only guess), cheered. She hugged the Autobot ninja in tearful joy. The mech snapped awake from the abrupt and enthusiastic impact.

‘You’ve sprung a leak’ Prowl said weakly. ‘A happy reason caused it I hope.’ He reached out to brush it away with an index finger. Mitch figured they’d had a similar conversation in the past.

‘Yes.’ Sari answered, hugging Prowl even harder. Wiping the rest of her tears in her arm she sat up and pulled the key from Prowl’s chassis. She jumped down expertly to the grass. She was estatic. Everyone was estatic. Eerrel’s plan had worked and the eight year old relished their victory.

Only Mitch stood watching all this with her arms across her chest. Satisfied that things had actually worked - a bloody miracle compared to the past few days - she wandered over to the dying fire to add more fuel. She knew why the key had helped the Autobot ninja and it left a bad taste in her mouth. Teppy was fucking with people’s lives and it pissed her off.

She waited for the others to finish their celebrations. They moved Prowl closer to the fire, the dark mecha limping as he walked. He was already gaining his strength though he was still very groggy. Jazz sat so the dark mecha could rest his head on his thigh and Sari flopped as close as she could to her friends without risking her being stepped on. She eyed her key with some concern, then returned it to its perch around her neck.

‘You know, camping’s pretty cool when you have the right tools.’ she said. ‘Bumblebee will be so jealous when he finds what I’ve been doing!’ She squealed with delight and was soon chattering with Jazz and Trellis about her mecha friends and how they’d first met. Prowl remained silent, probably sleeping off the last of his weariness.

Mitch sighed. She’d heard enough about the individual named Bumblebee to realize he was probably serious need of Ritalin. High strung didn’t begin to cover his passion for speed or games. She knew she was being harsh and Sari seemed to truly enjoy her yellow friend back home. Mitch, however couldn’t help but feel dread. She sensed turmoil on the horizon and in the middle of it stood Teppy.


	7. Chapter 7

‘Trellis, you almost stepped on my frigging tail.’

‘Sorry Mitch.’

The jaguar was brushing the dirt off her boots with a heavy nylon brush when Trellis almost squashed her when his mis stepped. She glowered at the mecha then continued doing what she could to make her boots presentable. Her military training drove her to distraction on days like this. Everything was soaked with dew and the muck stuck to everything like super glue. She watched Trellis return to the secondary fire and settle beside his companions.

Sari was beside Prowl as soon as she’d awoken. She had stayed beside Prowl as soon as he’d been well to rise - the first time in what felt like forever. Jazz had lit a larger fire and was making the ninja breakfast. It was obviously a culture clash as he was making distasteful faces at what he was being forced to drink. Jazz was bearing a happy grin, enjoying the break from whatever forsaken work he had left at home. Every so often he gave Prowl, who was hunched under a large blanket that had come with Jazz and Trellis’ emergency supplies, pointers on new problems he was experiencing. Whether the problems’ source was the drink he was nursing or the trail rations, Mitch didn’t know. Food was food when on the road and if she had to tilt back the ninja’s head and pour down the food herself she would. The thought of him sputtering while Jazz held his feet and Mitch shoved dry energon - which was bread-like and distasteful to look at - down his throat made her smile as wickedly as ever.

One of the newer issues Prowl was experiencing included a reflex similar to breathing. While he didn’t need to breathe, it was uncomfortable if he didn’t. Every so often he coughed as if unable to handle the direction the air from his intakes was coming from. Puffs of breath rose up in the morning cold from all three mecha, reminding Mitch of exhaust coming off mufflers on a cold ranch morning. She snorted at the comparison. Prowl flinched every time Jazz was near him. From the smell wafting off them the jaguar guessed there were sexual overtones to the reaction. It smelled a little like fresh ginger, musk and cinnamon but with a distinct, sharp mechanical taste to it. His curiosity were subtle motions carefully hidden but Mitch’s sharp senses picked them up. There were other actions she recognized. Something was bothering him. Prowl’s new systems were different. Worked in ways he wasn’t used to. New sensations bombarded his sensors while old ones were enhanced. Mitch had been amused by his reactions, even laughing at some of his more embarrassing discoveries such as drooling. It reminded her of when she became Teppy’s avatar. Suddenly she could smell everything and no matter how hard she tried to block it, her new senses wouldn’t let her. She could hear whispers, feel the wind on her muzzle when it played with her whiskers and smite things with a thought. She could even TASTE what she smelled, a fact that was both practical and utterly disgusting. Prowl, it appeared, could feel magnetic currents as if they were sharper. Between gulps of Jazz’s mystery concoction, he described the changes to Sari as best he could.

‘Everything I lived with before was behind a foggy window and now I can see everything that was behind it.’

‘But you’re okay?’ Sari said, her eyes welling up with tears. Tears of joy she was quick to add.

‘I’ll be fine.’ He reached out so Sari could hold his index finger. ‘We’ll both be fine. I have upgrades I need to work the glitches out of.’ He pulled the blanket around himself and Sari so they could both use the alien fabric to keep warm.

The adults read between the lines. Mitch’s suspitions were confirmed - among the ‘upgrades’ Prowl had endured were a new biology and yes, Prowl found Jazz to be attractive. The hidden stares, the sighs... it all made sense now. With the biology came new urges. Jazz had laughed the day before, when the transformations were complete. Learning to eat strange foods was an irritation but the reproductive needs hit with a vengence. Mitch had watched Jazz comfort the dark mecha as the new systems kicked in. He was pain free but the new chaos clouded his body, driving him to impulses he struggled to understand. Eerrel had watched Jazz suffer the same temptations and frustrations, which was another reason Jazz was begged to stay. Jazz had been kind enough to teach Prowl what he could, though there were particular needs that only Prowl could teach himself to endure. The dark mecha’s meditations had been steady all morning and only after persistent encouragement by Jazz and Eerrel had Prowl left his post. He seemed to need an extra amount of solitude, perhaps to talk himself into things he feared he couldn’t accept.

Mitch was pleased things went as planned. She could hear the inklings of trouble in the back of her mind but she paid no attention to them. She knew Teppy was up to something but she hoped. No..she PRAYED it was all a bad misunderstanding. Prowl was going home soon, something she was more than glad to get done with. Trellis, too, was happy that his leader - and brother- could get back where everyone could watch him. She watched Jazz and Trellis share a conversation via their personal com frequency and Trellis restrained a shocked laugh.

‘Ask him!’ he said loudly. He swatted his brother who hid a glance at Prowl. If Jazz could have blushed, he would have done so deeply. Apparently he’s got a crush on a certain Ninja, Mitch mused and finished with her boots.

Then Teppy appeared. Mitch swore he did it just to piss her off.

‘Now what?’ She snapped at the God. The others looked up at her. Eerrel scowled. From Mitch’s tone the bird lady knew Teppy had appeared though no one could see him.

‘You have problems beyond infection of Prowl.’

‘Jesus... TEPPY!’

‘Wrong side of the Atlantic.’

The Aztec God eyed his worker with golden eyes, amusement flickering briefly across his face. Then he turned. He frowned ever so slightly and with a wave of his hand caused an image of Cybertron to appear. He was serious as he spoke, his tone calm and firm. The planet revolved slowly as if created with the best holographic CGI graphics.

‘Megatron has discovered Sari and Prowl’s infection. He plans on using it to his advantage.’

‘Mega-who?...Oh.’ Mitch paused, remembering the Decepticon leader. ‘How the hell did he find out about Prowl and Sari? I’m surprised anyone knows about them.’ she pinned her whiskers against her muzzle. ‘And Prowl and Sari are healed.’

‘Trees have ears.’

‘Teppy - less mumbo jumbo. Please. It’s too early for it.’

The God growled. It was only half a sigh.

‘Sari is still infected. Remember that, Mitch. Prowl’s healing will help her combat it though. ‘ A Pause as he studued the jaguar’s features. ‘Starscream caught an avatar and they spoke. Torture. Probably from listening to his clones bicker among themselves.’ Mitch nodded, absorbing the news. Just like in battle she needed the facts in order to plot her moves.

Teppy continued. ‘He and Megatron have joined forces and plan to take the infection for themselves.’

Eerrel knew right away that Mitch had received bad news. The look on the jaguar’s face dropped sharply and a snarl wrinkled her spotted face.

‘Mitch? What did he say?’

‘We’re fucked, Eerrel. Seriously, seriously FUBAR fucked.’

‘From your expression I’d say it’s beyond our normal stated of buggered up.’

Mitch repressed a smile and threw a feral glare at the mecha behind her.

‘Prowl - Megatron knows about you and Sari. Stripped the info off one of Teppy’s pals. Says probably from hearing from Starscream’s clones bitching all the time.’

Jazz’s head shot up, not liking the news any better than Mitch. Prowl gasped ever so slightly and Sari clutched her key tighter than ever. Trellis, digging through what he found from food gathering, eyed his camp mates with a scowl locked in tension.

Mitch eyed the camp fire's reflection on Teppy’s obsidian leg. If there was going to be war, a God of chaos and night was their best bet at beating the situation. Would any of Teppy’s comrads help? She couldn’t help but feel like there was more to the situation, though. Teppy was often secretive and often told half explanations. He didn’t outright LIE. He just didn’t tell the whole story to everyone. Like now.

‘Teppy. You’re hiding something. Again.’

‘You know me well, Mitch. I’ve told you everything you need to know.’

‘Like bloody hell I do. Spill it or you’re going to get more attitude.’ She knew she risked a serious smiting from the God, but she figured there was too much she needed to know. Now.

The God actually sighed this time, as if handling an especially stubborn child.  
He reached over to touch Mitch’s forehead and like the pictures she saw in Teppy’s pool, several images hit her at once. His fingers were like soft suade on her fur and the images came as a flood. She relaxed, trying to filter out the bulk of the God’s explanation.

Prowl and Sari’s mecha friends. The Matrix. The key. The All Spark. Then the merging of the All Spark energy with the Matrix to create the new universe. An explosion and many deaths. Megatron finding the All Spark and battling with Starscream at his side. Another explosion and wars ending. Megatron fighting his last battles against an equally capable version of him and finally falling to Jazz. The Decepticons falling before a new God while their bodies changed to be come as Prowl, Jazz and Trellis were. Then the Autobots falling to their knees in honor their new God. Humans and Jazz’s people teaching the new mecha and Prowl - finally an image of Prowl- being leader of Jazz’s homeworld. He was tall, proud, silent. A parent. A creator. Thankful, too. Before Prowl’s image faded he stared right at the jaguar, as if the new leader knew she was observing.

As the last of the images died, Mitch blinked back tears.

‘Christ Teppy. That’s what you’re planning.’

‘They will not suffer.’

‘You’re ..’ she paused, knowing that the others didn’t know what had just happened. You’re screwing with free will Teppy, she said mentally. She felt the tips of her hair rising as anger welled up inside her.

Teppy smiled. Again the look one would give a stubborn child.

‘Sometimes the few must die for the good of the greater cause. They will learn. The merger of energies will contain infections in this side of the Multiverse. I fear chaos will rein until the impending energy spread is complete.’

‘Energy spread?’

‘You must to combine the All Spark with the Matrix. It should be impressive. If I remember correctly you enjoy big explosions.’

Mitch had to look at the God twice before she fully understood what he was saying.

‘You’re nuts, Teppy.’

‘No. That is Blitzwing’s job. ‘

Did he actually make a joke? Mitch thought.

Teppy continued. ’You better hurry and pack. You’ll need to cross dimensions before sundown.’

Mitch managed to find her tongue.

‘Blitzwho?’

‘You’ll understand.’ he said. Just as he started to fade, he growled so fiercely that Mitch drew back. ‘Do not damage the All Spark. We cannot lose it.’ Then he was gone.

Mitch shook her head and turned to Eerrel.

‘This is so beyond fucked that I can’t describe how much worse it can get.’

Eerrel cocked her head, the effect making her look like a giant parrot.

‘That good, huh?’

‘Yeah. Teppy wants us to cross dimensions by sun down and I know where he wants us to go. Prowl and Sari are going home tonight.’


	8. Chapter 8

Sari was doing her best to convince Optimus that Trellis wasn’t going wipe out the bots standing behind him. She was waving her hands in the air, running towards the giants.

‘Noo! He’s not going to hurt anyone!’

Mitch was crossing through the dimensional gate with her pack dragon when she saw the scene erupt. Optimus, who she recognized from Prowl and Sari’s descriptions, was poised with his axe, ready for whatever thumping planned for Trellis. Trellis was out with his blades, ready to go Elite Guard on the Prime’s bumper. Jazz was standing back, letting his security officer do his job but with his own nunchucks ready. Although he was quite capable of defending his own hide, it was trellis’ duty to protect his leader even at the cost of his own life. He lived to serve and serving his brother was his most passionate honour.

Prowl, arms out and legs flexed, was between his friends hoping to prevent the fight threatening to explode with the drop of a feather.

‘Wow.’ Mitch said. ‘I’ve not seen this much tension since the bar fight on Veddis Nine.’

‘The one you caused.’ Eerrel said, closing the dimensional gate carefully. She’s noticed the chaos behind her but didn’t seem to care if it got violent. Eerrel had an eerie ability to predict if a situation was going to get ugly or not.

‘Hey,’ Mitch snorted. ’ I don’t like people stealing my beer.’

Mitch sauntered into the large room, bold and chin high. She bowed mockingly at the strange mecha, taking off her leather cap in the process. The image of the jaguar dramatically bowing was comical to say the least. She caught Trellis holding back a smile though the corners of his mouth threatened to give him away.

‘We apologize for intruding, but we’ve had some time issues to deal with.’ Mitch tossed her head in Jazz and Trellis’ direction, her ears perked sharply. ‘They’re cool though a bit high strung.’ She bowed again. ‘ The name’s Mitch.’ She turned to point to the Mecha who had arrived before her. ‘Prowl and Sari you know and I suspect you’re happy to have back. Don’t mind the Ninja Bot. He’s... um... had a few glitches over the few weeks. Needed what you’d call ‘severe upgrades’. Otherwise he’d have been home earlier.’ She used her hat to point to the white mecha leader and his brother. ‘That there is Jazz and Trellis, his security officer. Don’t piss them off. They have good aim.’

From the background, a low growl in the form of a complaint. A red and white mecha stepped forwards, almost shoving the much larger green one out of the way.

‘ And who might you be?’

Mitch stepped forward, ignoring the glares as she walked into the room’s seating area. To one side was the large equivalent of a couch. In front of it was the biggest TV she had ever seen. Who needs Imax when you got your own large screen contraption in your own living room? she thought with a twitch of her tail.

‘Said the name’s Mitch’ the jaguar stated a second time. She stepped forward, ignoring the glare the red and white mecha shot her. ‘We’re here to save the Universe.’ She threw a look at Prowl. ‘They always this feisty?’

‘Always’ was the calm reply.

Trellis was the last to lower his weapons.

“Eerrel. I thought you said Jazz existed in this universe?’ the security officer huffed.

Eerrel grabbed the pack dragon’s reins from Mitch and led the scaled beast to a far wall. There she gave the command for the creature to stand.

‘I don’t think they’ve met Sentinel’s crew yet.’

‘Frag. This is going to make things more difficult.’

Prowl, ignoring the others, made his way to the couch and was joined by Sari. The two stared at each other momentarily, as if sharing a single thought. Then Sari cheered triumphantly, bouncing on the oversized sofa.

‘You would NOT BELIEVE where we were!’ She squealed. ‘It was SO COOL!’

Prowl didn’t share her enthusiasm. In a rare moment of uncontrolled emotion, he let out a deep, miserable sigh and held his head in his palms. He did this for several seconds before leaning back.

Mitch knew that look. He was relieved to be home. She’d felt the same way when returning from tours in the Military. While earth - THIS Earth wasn’t his real home, it was the closest thing he had to it.

The red and white mecha, who had watched Sari’s joyous celebration with a happy but uncertain glower, followed the others to the couch. Optimus settled beside Sari and was returning her gleeful hug.

‘OHMYGAWD!wehavesomuchtotellyou!Therewasthisdragon-thingand-’

‘Whoa! Slow down, Sari!’ Optimus said with a laugh.

The red and white mecha’s glare darkened. It could have peeled paint.

‘Where have you been? We’ve been looking all over for you!’ he stated. It softened again. ‘Glad to have you back.’

‘I’ve been very sick.’ Prowl said. He crossed his legs easily, giving the room a brief, sweeping glance as he did so. He was oblivious to the row of stares that suddenly landed on him. Then, with cat like grace, he rose and disappeared down a hall.

The large green mecha who had been standing in the background the whole time suddenly reacted.

‘Wait! Prowl! Bumb-’

Prowl was nearly drop kicked by a flurry of yellow as he entered the door that lead off to the side. He easily deflected the blows and when the flash of yellow stopped long enough to take a shape, a bright yellow mecha with a black stripe down it’s left side materialized. He may have been small, but he was determined.

Bumblebee, Mitch thought.

The jaguar made her way towards Prowl. Behind her the red and white mecha followed, his arms still across his chest. Bumblebee was currently taking swings at the dark ninja, who had his hand on the much smaller mecha’s head. He was holding Bumblebee back. Not one swing touched the much larger ninja as he surged forward, the effect as comical as something out of a Looney Tunes segment.

‘WHERE! HAVE! YOU! BEEN!’ Bumblebee yelled accusingly. Another swing that Prowl easily ducked.

Prowl simply grunted.

‘Missed you, too.’

Giving up, Bumblebee backed down, hands clenching and unclenching out of frustration. Mitch gave the yellow mecha an amused sniff as she walked by. That started the yellow Mecha grumbling. Optimus cut it short by planting a hand over the small mecha’s mouth.

In front of her the red and white mecha had taken a place beside the dark ninja. She ignored the argument they were starting and followed them down the hall. The white and red mecha - the medic Ratchet she gleaned from the bickering - was grilling the ninja. The medic’s questions were baited and Prowl’s responses well rehearsed. From the ninja’s responses it was easy to see that the red and white mecha was normally a pain in the ass (although a well loved one), but from the way Prowl was avoiding his snapping, he seemed particularly annoyed. Considering how long the ninja and Sari had been missing, Mitch didn’t blame any of them for being out of sorts. Prowl, at first, danced out of the way when Ratchet performed a quick scan, but stopped long enough to endure the seconds long procedure. A low growl from the red and white medic as he analyzed the results made the others pause. When it deepened, Optimus cocked his head.

‘Of all the -’ Ratchet grumbled.

‘It’s a long story’ Prowl muttered and continued walking. ‘One you wouldn’t understand.’

Sari was following behind everyone, sticking particularly close to the green mecha who she called Bulkhead. Optimus watched carefully from behind everyone, probably to make sure Trellis and Jazz didn’t cause any problems. The lot of beings - human, jaguar, bird-lady, pack dragons and mecha - followed Prowl to his room. Optimus was about to prevent them from following but for whatever unsaid reason he paused, mouth half open and let them follow the dark ninja. There was something different about Prowl that he couldn’t pinpoint. Even his Autobot energy signal felt different. The feeling lingered about Sari, too, but it was most noticeable on the ninja.

One of the biggest trees the Mitch and Eerrel had ever seen dominated the ninja’s room. There was a Zen-like elegance to the space with a mat off to the side. The dominating colors were black and white, bringing to it a simple charm that Mitch envied. She almost expected to see Japanese warriors pop out of the building’s elderly walls. It fit the Ninja mecha perfectly. The only deviation from the room’s feel was a pile of clutter where the room had fallen in, perhaps blown in and not been cleaned up yet. With a several well practiced leaps Prowl was up the tree’s side and he disappeared into the canopy. Sari trotted off to the base of the tree but didn’t follow him up. She wore one of the happiest faces seen on her .

‘Prowl we’ve got to tell them what we did! Why you’re different! Why we’re both different!’

The only answer was the sound of shifting branches and dried leaves being jarred from their former perches.

‘Prowl?’ Sari called, this time a little more serious. When no response came, she pouted. ‘Come down. We have to tell them what happened.’

Another pause. Then a tense, thin sound.

‘Leave me alone.’

Trellis and Jazz gave each other questioning glances then gave the other mecha around them a stare that the others couldn’t answer. Mitch flicked an ear as Prowl’s friends slowly backed away, leaving only Optimus standing by the door. Sari didn’t flinch but rather leaned up against the tree’s rough bark to stare up at the branches. Prowl was sitting near the crown as far as the tree would allow him, his face buried in his hands. It seemed homesickness had finally caught up with the normally collected ‘bot.

‘Prowl? Come down.’

Mitch snorted and joined Sari’s side to stare up at the ninja.

‘Give him time to recuperate.’ she said softly. ‘ He’s been away from home too long.’

‘So have I.’

‘But he handles things differently from you.’ Mitch pulled out a stick elk jerky from her jacket’s front pocket, unwrapping it from it’s cheesecloth wrapping. She began chewing. ‘C’mon. I have a feeling your father will need to speak to you.’ With that she laid an arm on the child’s shoulder and gently nudged her towards the door. ‘There’s a lot of explaining to do.’

Reluctantly Sari pulled her gaze from the tree and followed Mitch’s nudge towards the door.


	9. Chapter 9

‘I can’t believe I’m seeing this.’

Ratchet had Prowl on his back, the ninja’s spark chamber exposed. He was running a laser scan over the body, the thin line of light curving over the mecha’s spark chamber and chest. Prowl seemed to be mildly embarrassed, especially with Trellis and Jazz holding back hysterical laughter. Every so often they would share a hushed comment that caused Prowl to frown and toss an irritated glare in their direction. Trellis was wiping optical lubricant from his eyes, his attempts at a poker face a total and complete failure.

‘So when was your last date with Ratty, Prowl?’ he was saying. ‘Normally you date before the spark’s involved.’

Jazz, acting a little more mature, had his head bowed and his hand covering his face. While he wasn’t being quite as explicit as his brother, he was thinking the same thing. The procedure was perfectly normal for Ratchet to do in his universe, but with Prowl’s cross dimensional ‘upgrades’, the ninja was essentially being poked at with his pants down. Thus his embarrassment.   
And Ratchet’s annoyance with the thin, white and black Autobot Commander and his brother.

The medic had been given a complete description of what had happened to Prowl from Eerrel, who had transferred her magical data to the digital medium to most everyone’s amazement. The list of notes included major changes to Prowl’s biology such as support struts and servo connectors to minor shifts such as what fuel lines connected where. Most shifts were easy to work with and were not much different from what Ratchet repaired daily. The biggest differences, however, came with Prowl’s immune system - something he didn’t have before, or at least, not the way Ratchet understood it- and his spark chamber.

It was his spark chamber that was currently the source of the room’s peals of laughter. Peals of laughter that were currently disrupting the meeting out in the lounge area.

Ratchet was forced to use the laser scanner because the manual scan had accidently - and quite innocently - sent Prowl into howling convulsions. Of course that fiasco had stalled the meeting and as a result Mitch had taken over explanations while Prowl and Ratchet were relegated to the back of the factory. Neither medic nor ninja had expected the response to spark manipulation to be quite so... dramatic. That’s when Jazz had been called in to help supervise the medical proceedings, Prowl sitting on the floor of the medical room with his hand protectively covering his spark chamber.

And where Jazz went, Trellis went. Mitch had not been amused to have half her team take off to act as nurses. Bad enough that Prowl had taken a day to come out of his tree, but then he had to be scanned so Ratchet could use Prowl’s changes to upgrade his information. If dimensional travel was as erratic as Mitch made it sound, he needed all the help he could get. But considering Prowl and Sari’s predicament and the fate of the Multiverse in the balance, their absence was forgivable.

Ratchet, sliding back his magnifying monocle with irritation because of another round of their laughter, glowered at Jazz and Trellis.

‘Would you two quit it?’

Trellis coughed as he attempted to retain his composure.

‘Sorry, Boss Bot, but... it couldn’t be helped. I’m not use to watching gynocological exams.’

Ratchet, returning to his research, muttered something undecipherable about the age of Trellis and having his mind in the gutter. From his tone, no one wanted to know what it was. Moments passed without so much as a sniff. Every so often Trellis would start giggling, followed by Jazz but they would quickly kill the fits before they got out of hand. Waves of conversation from the hallway rolled in volume, sometimes muttered cries of disbelief from Bumblebee or calm, collected questions from Sari’s father.

It felt like an eternity before Ratchet spoke again.

‘How in the Pit am I supposed to work on that-’ he gestured at the elaborate ridges and wiring connected to Prowl’s spark chamber. ‘ -if he needs emergency care? I can’t pop him open and have him screaming curses at me every time I need to fix him.’

Prowl looked up.

‘Call a medic?’ he quipped, causing Ratchet to stare daggers at the ninja. Prowl lay his head back down, smiling wide.

Jazz withheld another round of insatiable giggling and tapped his left forearm.

‘I’m sure he wouldn’t mind the attention.’ he said as a screen popped up on the underside of it. The screen dark before colored lines of information passed in surges. The light from the screen danced as Jazz transferred his own emergency care data to an external data storage device in his arm. When it was done, a thin, clear disk popped out with an audible click. He removed the object and handed it to the medic.

Ratchet gave Jazz a wary glance then took it from him.

‘And what am I supposed to do with this?’

‘Download it to your data files.’

‘And how do you expect me to do that?’

‘Pop it into your compiling matrix like humans do to their computers. Or just load it to the computer. You... do have a compiling matrix, right?’

‘Most convoluted use of technology I’ve ever heard of.’

Jazz let a teasing smirk escape.

‘It took me some getting used to, too.’

‘Then why do you do it?’

‘Prevents infection. Like wearing a glove before poking at someone’s insides.’ Jazz wiggled his fingers.

Ratchet gave out another grunt. He was going to ask how an alien computer could read the information when the disk, as Ratchet lay it beside the terminal, automatically downloaded the files via whatever wireless transfer protocol was programmed into it.

‘Cool.’ Jazz said, amused. ‘ Too cool. Still gets me every time.’

‘And this is normal from where you come from?’

‘Nope.’

Ratchet scowled, shooting a glance at Trellis and Prowl before returning his attention to the new data.

‘I thought you were from another dimension. How come that-’ He jabbed a finger at the disk. ‘-isn’t ‘normal’.

Prowl took the opportunity to move and sat up, leaning on one elbow. The laser scanner’s lines twisted as he shifted, causing beams of light to ripple off him in elaborate patterns.

‘I think he’s trying to say he was in a similar situation I am in.’

‘Only I didn’t have someone to help me out of it. Eerrel asked me to help you. Someone had to do it.’

‘Hrrrm. It’s been interesting.’ he cocked his head. ‘And I appreciate the offers of help.’

‘Only appreciate?’

‘I’ll beg more next time.’

Ratchet watched as Jazz and the ninja shared a brief gaze which the Autobot commander quickly broke off. If Jazz could have blushed, he would have been scarlet. Prowl’s gaze lingered as he studied the white and black Autobot, his expression serene.

Trellis’ brow plate shifted as he passed a quiet glance to the medic. The medic, too, seemed to understand what was passing between the Autobot commander and the ninja. Was Jazz, Trellis’ brother, actively flirting with Prowl? If it wasn’t unfolding before Ratchet’s eyes he would have never had believed it.

Trellis coughed, not quite sure how to handle the situation.

‘He’s trying to say he came from one world and moved to another. Same here.’ Trellis thumped his chest lightly to accent his point. ‘I followed him. He needed someone to protect his aft considering all the trouble he gets himself into.’ He paused, shifting his weight. ‘The down side to this moving business is that our home world technologies were... ARE similar to yours. But the new place is quite different. They use a lot of touch based downloading. Microbursting. Wireless stuff. Because of that they’re more susceptible to viral infestations. The disks prevent nasty stuff from spreading to where they shouldn’t.’

‘Makes sense. I wouldn’t want someone playing havoc with my insides either.’

About this time Mitch wandered in with Sari at her side. Behind them came Eerrel, her arms full of random items. Sari’s father had helped her collect some replacement camping gear and Eerrel was looking for the spare saddle packs to put them in. Their arrival meant that the discussion had paused long enough to take a much needed respite.

Jazz jumped immediately to help Eerrel.

‘Thanks Jazzy’ the red, bird-like humanoid said.

‘Hey! No prob. Wouldn’t want a nice lady like yourself to get hurt.’

Eerrel chuckled, the corners of her mouth twitching widely in a exotic smile.

‘Always a flirt. No wonder all the single mechs at the base like you.’

Jazz, again, passed a brief look at Prowl. He stood, the pile of items small in his hands.

‘Any news from Teppy?’ Jazz said, quickly changing the subject.

‘Hell, no.’ Mitch answered. ’Never no. ‘

Ratchet, who had refocused his attention to Prowl, had the ninja lay back down so he could resume the laser scan. He ignored Prowl when he flinched as the medical device powered up.

‘Who is this Teppy everyone keeps talking about?’

Mitch shook her head.

‘Too bad you had to miss that part of the meeting. Biggest unpredictable pain in the ass ever.’ She looked up at the ceiling, looking sheepish and quickly muttered, ‘Really AM sorry, Tepps, but it’s the truth!’

‘Her patron God if you want to call him that.’ Eerrel added. ‘Ask Mitch to tell you the whole story as you work. It’s fascinating.’

‘In short,’ Mitch said, ‘He’s the dude I work for. Don’t ask to see him. I can barely make him answer yes or no questions. He didn’t even ask me if I wanted to be his avatar. ’

Prowl remained silent as Mitch repeated the whole story - and Teppy’s involvement - as his old friend worked. She left huge chunks of the stoy out for the benefit of time. Under his visor his optics were dark, his mind brooding quietly over what his new life meant and how it would change his relationship with what he classed his surrogate family.

//I was hoping - // came a sudden microburst from Jazz //-that I could be considered part of that ‘family’.//

Prowl twitched with surprise and gave Jazz a confused look.

‘How -’

//Shhhhh...// Jazz said again, his mental voice clearer. //You’re mumbling over my personal comm frequency. //

Prowl frowned and ignored the others’ curious glances. He wasn’t used to the new range of radio frequencies his new body gave him, or how to properly filter his thoughts out of the broadcasts.

Jazz paused long enough to pass a tool from behind him to Ratchet.

//Well?//

//Well what?// Prowl sent back, focusing on Jazz’s band frequency.

//I’m asking if you want to date me.// There was a sheepish look from the Autobot Commander. //It’s not often I ask. It’s a bad time but as you’re already here in my head. It’s often the other way around, y’know. I’m not easy to live with. I leave my stuff all over the place and I steal the recharge booth’s blankets. Then there’s this whole ‘leader of an Alt Universe Autobot Army’ thing that most -//

//Yes.//

//-folks never get used- Huh?//

//I said yes.//

//... Trellis is going to kill me.//

Prowl cracked a thin smile.

Out loud Jazz said:

‘Did you mention Megatron’s involvement? THEIR Megatron?’

Mitch shook her head. Ratchet’s reaction was violent. He almost dropped the probe he was holding and he attempted to snatch it from the air several times before rescuing it before it hit the floor.

‘Megatron? What’s he up to? How did he get involved?’

‘Sucked some info off of One of Teppy’s co-workers. He wants the infection for himself and he’s working with Starscream to get it.’

‘I’m getting too old for this.’

Mitch huffed.

‘Tell me about it.’ A pause. ‘We need the AllSpark to kick his ass.’

Ratchet looked up.

‘Why?’

‘I was expecting more panic in your voice.’ Mitch said.

‘You don’t live through a great war and survive this long by panicking wildly. Now Why on Cybertron do you need the AllSpark?’

‘In short, Teppy’s going to merge universes.’

‘I don’t get it.’

Mitch sighed. ‘Think of everything - and I mean everything in creation - as one big ball. The Gods, fates, energy, physics, evolution, dark matter, magic, planets, technology, time and space as being aspects in this ball. Add cracks to this ball that lead right down to the centre. There’s a marble in the centre of this ball. All the cracks and the spaces between these cracks are individual universes. Some universes are miniature universes unto themselves. Some are like where Eerrel comes from. Kinda like planets, but they’re not planets. They’re dimensions unto themselves. Each universe is its own ecosystem and with each ecosystem there’s a nasty bug that can take out everything around it. Sometimes you have to bring in something to counteract this nasty bug. An antivirus so to speak. In order to prevent hell from breaking loose and destroying everything around it you have to move things around. ‘

Ratchet’s attention had been captured this time.

‘Go on. I’m listening.’

‘In order to defend your universe from the bug they -’ Mitch growled in Prowl’s direction. ‘- brought back with them from literally eroding everything this side of the Multiverse, we got to blend Jazz’s home universe energy with your universe’s energy. As his Matrix -’ She pointed at Jazz who wiggled his fingers in a polite ‘hello’. ‘-is the most powerful unit of creation energy in his universe, we need to blend it with your universe’s most powerful creation energy - the Allspark.

Take Prowl and Sari’s infection, add it to the Allspark and things will get nasty. That’s why Megatron wants it. It’s power. Jazz’s Matrix can act as an antiviral and save everyone from a slow, depressing, painful death.’

Ratchet was quiet. Then with a sharp jerk he pulled his monocle up with a thought and turned to stare down at the jaguar.

‘That’s got to be the biggest load of -’

‘She’s not kidding, Ratchet.’ Prowl said. ‘I’ve been there. You’re staring at what it did to me. We have to do this.’

‘And if we don’t?’

‘Foom!’ Mitch hissed, making explosion gestures with her fingers first and spreading them out dramatically with her arms. ‘It’s not pretty. Nothing is left. Humans where I come from say not even light escapes a black hole. Well, imagine the dimensional equivalent of a black hole the size of several dimensions.’

‘You have me convinced.’

‘Good. After break we’re going to discuss how we’re going to blend the energies. Jazz has to contact the council of Elders back on ... Err... his Cybertron. That’s going to take a while to happen.’

‘Magnus won’t like our plans either.’ Ratchet said.

‘Funny you should mention that.’ Jazz said with a sigh. ‘He’s head of the council of Elders.’


	10. Chapter 10

The scene before everyone was like a panel out of a bad comic book. Before them bantered a large blue and white Autobot who called himself Sentinel Prime. He was bickering heatedly with Optimus, the insults being traded with increasing fervor. Jazz, decked in full Leadership glory complete with sash, stood on one side with his head of Elders, Ultra Magnus. Two smaller members of the Elite Guard - twins named Jetfire and Jetstorm - watched the whole scenerio with their equally unamused elder. Ratchet, prowl and the other Earth bound Autobots stood around them. Mitch stood beside Eerrel who held the reins to Mitch’s pack mount. The way everyone -including the pack dragon - watched the pair bicker reminded her of a crowd watching a tennis game.

‘If you hadn’t grabbed that last bit of glory we wouldn’t have BEEN in that situation.’ Sentinel griped.

‘AND WE ASKED YOU TO GO BACK!’

‘Why the slag would I have wasted my time for that piece of -’

‘Wasted YOUR time? If you had gotten off your-’

Jazz leaned closer to one of the twins.

‘Should I be worried?’

‘I have been told,’ the orange twin said in a distinct russian accent , ‘they have always bickered like this.’

‘Good lord.’ Mitch muttered. ‘I’ve met Horus and Sekmeht in a bad mood and this is just as bad.’

‘Just minus the beer tainted red.’ Eerrel added.

‘How... do... we get them to stop?’

Mitch looked up at Jazz’s version of Ultra Magnus when he spoke. She’d just met the mecha but understood why he held the position he did. He carried an air of calm, contained power about him that hummed very differently from the other Ultra Magnus that stood in the crowd. They had the same look but their outlooks were different as was the way they carried themselves. The other big difference was that while the Elite Guard version was a great military leader and hero, Jazz’s version was closer to a shaman or pope than a president. He was also younger than Optimus’ version.

‘Pray’n ain’t gonna work. I already tried that.’ Mitch said with a frustrated frown. ‘When in doubt, do it yourself.’ She scratched her head, then gleaning an idea from a movie she saw, dug through her pack dragon’s supplies. She pulled out a metal tea cup. When the two mecha didn’t break off their argument when she banged it loudly on the mecha beside her, she aimed it carefully and hucked it as hard as she could. It landed loudly and quite squarely on the side of Sentinel Prime’s head.

‘Hey! Who’s the wise guy who did that?’

‘NOW that we have your undivided attention,’ Mitch stated with annoyance, ‘can we PLEASE continue back to the ship and get on with our meeting?

‘You Threw that THINg at me!’

‘Aw, for chrissake, Sentinel!’ mitch snapped. ‘We hear you already. Shuddup and get moving!’

‘I don’t have to listen to this! ’

‘You will if you don’t want a face full of avatar riding your skid plates to your proverbial Pit and back.’

‘Ultra Magnus! I refuse to let that.. That.. ORGANIC talk to me like that!’

The Elite Guard version of Ultra Magnus motioned for the Prime to move.

‘I would listen to her’ he said calmly. ‘The solution she’s offered us is important to all of us.’

Sentinel Prime gave Optimus an angry glare but he turned and practically stomped up the ship’s ramp to the loading bay. Mitch lit a match and ignited a cigarette as she watched the large mecha go. Following him came two of the Elite Guard carrying the Allspark. She took several puffs while the others started up after them, a satisfied smirk curling around her fangs. The humans were the last ones on the ship, a small army of humans in black suits following everyone up until only she remained. Satisfied no-one was going to follow up after her, she dropped the cigarette and ground it dead with the heel of her boot.

The ship was actually Jazz’s small shuttle, Asylum 5. The ship had passed though the dimensional warp gates with ease, a feat that had spooked the Elite Guard badly when the strange looking vessel had arrived and the crew looking for their version of Ultra Magnus. Good thing Blaster, Jazz’s shuttle captain, was a smooth talker and excellent with laying on the charm. Even Better that Prowl and Optimus Prime had been there to explain the whole situation to Ultra Magnus personally. Jazz had needed more time to persuade the Council of Elders but his Magnus had agreed to come. It had taken several days to organize scheduals and in Sentinel prime’s case, convince him that the organic life forms of earth were not going to turn his insides out. Then the Interdimensional Policing Agency, basically the real source of the Men In Black rumors, got involved. Thankfully they knew about her dealings with unpredictable Gods and for whatever forsaken reason had demanded to attend the Allspark meetings. Things had become painfully complicated after that, a fact that still gave Mitch headaches.

Now that they were together Mitch swore she was going to strangle Sentinel before the organic crawlies he feared even breathed on him.

Once inside the ship, Jazz lead everyone to the main council room, a comfortable but sparsely decorated room near the middle of the ship. Trellis was by the door with the rest of the security officers, his weapons at the ready. The jet twins gave the numerous officers a curious stare as they filed in.

‘Forgive the extreme security measures.’ Jazz said as he almost threw himself into his seat and tossed a leg up onto the conference table. ‘Humans have a weird sense of security and the guy before me based a lot of our current protocol on the Inderdimensional Policing Agency’s policies.’ He motioned towards the far wall where drinks and food lay. ‘Munchies? I think we’ve got it all. Human, energon, avatar. Some weird stuff I’ve never heard of, specially order from Ethanania, Eerrel.’

‘OOH! Grubzies!’ the bird lady squeaked when she recognized the weirdly wrapped food. She easily trotted up the spiral staircase that connected the food table to the floor.

Jazz smiled and grabbed a cup of green liquid he had already poured for himself.

‘Prowl - you’ll want to try this stuff later.’

Mitch skipped the stairs that allowed smaller organics access to the conference table and instead floated to the row of seats already set up at the table head. She took a seat across from Jazz, easily laying back in the chair. Trellis was ordering several individuals into position and whispering commands into his wrist comm. She watched the head security officer pace about and when everything was in place he took a seat by the door.

‘So.’ Mitch began, using her avatar’s loud voice to her advantage. ‘The Allspark.’

Elite Guard Ultra Magnus had already taken a seat, his war hammer snapped into the weapon clasp built into the table edge. The jet twins, already with plates piled high with exotic energon, took their seats beside him. The others did the same as Mitch began her speech. Jazz’s idea of an important meeting was usually pretty relaxed. He had two rules. Lots of food and as folks digested you gave them the bad news.

‘What are we going to do? Magnus... Elder.’ She bowed in Jazz’s Council head’s direction. He nodded back.‘You’ve already been briefed. As have you, Elder of the Guard.’ She bowed slightly in the Elite Guard Elder’s direction. ‘I don’t like the idea of merging the Allspark and Matrix myself. Infection of universes is a messy business and if something goes wrong, I’d hate to see the single source of your planet’s creation energies die with our plans. As Teppy is hard to predict I don’t know how to handle this. All I can do is pass information on. ‘ She shrugged.

‘Jazz?’

The Autobot commander looked up at his Head of Council.

‘I’m not sure what to do either, ‘Magnus’ he said. He took his straw and swirled the green fluid as if playing with a thick slurpee. He took several sips before continuing. ‘Way I see it is if we don’t, we’re damned. We screw up and... Well, you know we can survive as a species without the Creation Matrix. But from what Prowl’s helped me understand, his Cybertron can’t.’

Sentinel, looking bored, had his head on the table. Jazz leaned over to grab a square of low grade energon from off his plate, only to have the Prime snatch it back and toss it back where it came from.

‘And WHY do we need to do this?’ he said, annoyed.

‘Her God’s creating a new universe to prevent an energy taint from taking over everything.’ Eerrel said, taking a seat beside Mitch.

‘If we lose the Allspark we lose Cybertron.’ the twin named Jetstorm said.

‘If we don’t join the Matrix and Spark energies the infection that Prowl and Sari had could potentially wipe out everything.’ Jazz leaned back in his chair and stirred his drink again. ‘We don’t combine them and your version of Megatron will use the infection to take over absolutely everything.’

‘The choice is obvious to me.’ Mitch said with a sigh. ‘I hate it either way. Pros - we can successfully kick Megatron’s arse across the multiverse if we combine the energies. New universe. New Cybertron. Or Cybertrons. I don’t know. Every universe is different. The combined energies can protect both universes from that damnable infection Sari and Prowl had and nothing dies.’

She sighed deeply as she thought. The others around her had already started to settle and were quietly eating.

‘Cons. The energy taint doesn’t take and the infection happens anyways. Just because a God has plans doesn’t mean another God won’t butt in and make everyone’s lives hell. Or... this universe’s Allspark dies and your home, Elite Elder Magnus, dies out. Not only the planet but your whole species. Or Megatron finds the Allspark before we can merge energies and everything goes to hell anyways.’

‘An option, though,’ Eerrel cut in, ‘is if we have to, we can move some of Elite Elder Magnus’ peoples cross dimensions if something does happen to the Allspark. It’s a huge responsibility to bear and a decision can’t be made immediately. It’s hard enough to move people from one city to another, but an entire planet?’

One of the suited humans stood. He was handed a mic by a co-worker, which he clipped to his collar.

‘While do like the ideas of having you alien visitors coming for a sunshine tan in my world, I don’t think a city full of your vehicles would be much appreciated by the human population.’

Mitch smiled.

‘Point taken, J.’

‘You guys-’ he waved a dark hand around to point at the mecha around him, ‘ are awfully big to hide in a subway.’

Council Elder Ultra Magnus thought silently as the noise around him swelled and died as the points were discussed.

‘If things don’t work, I will open my home world for settlers.’ he said finally.

‘Prowl.’ Elite Elder Ultra Magnus said. ‘You said your systems changed when you crossed. Please tell us how. What you tell us will influence my decision.

Prowl stood.

‘It’s not much different from what I was. I just... I can’t describe everything I feel. Different urges.’ He passed a half hidden glance at Jazz. ‘Electrical fields are easier to sense.’

‘The pluses?’ his elder asked.

‘The senses are sharper. And...’

‘And?’

‘We’ll have the ability to reproduce without the need for the Allspark. Or protoforms, if I understand Jazz correctly.’

Elite Guard Ultra Magnus drew back with mild surprise.

‘Then why not move us and let this infection take over?’

Mitch shook her head.

‘Because if it takes over here it will take over everywhere. Once it takes over here it may not stick to just corner of the multiverse. There’s hundreds, perhaps thousands of other mecha based universes similar to yours and if your worlds die, there won’t be any Cybertron-like worlds left anywhere. It’s not just Cybertron, either.’

‘Who cares. Save ourselves first!’ Sentinel Prime snapped.

Mitch continued on, ignoring the blue Prime.

‘Other Earths, other species. We’re talking entire dimensional ecosystems. Usually when a God decides to play silly buggers with their creation it’s because it’s become obsolete. Well, I think Teppy’s finding your worlds’ energies too good to destroy and plans on keeping what he can. Then again, as I’ve said so many times in the past, Teppy is pretty frigging hard to understand. Who knows what that oversized cat is thinking. As far as I’m concerned, he’s forcing all of you -’

She suddenly shut up, feeling as if A large jaguar had just bitten her. She knew Teppy had heard her and was telling her she’d already said too much.   
She sat down and grabbed a chunk of cheese off Eerrel’s plate in frustration. Popping it in her mouth, she chewed it violently.

The crowd around her started arguing. Prowl was leaning on the table. Every so often he and Jazz would pass stares that Prowl would then avoid. Right before her eyes she could see one of Teppy’s predictions unfolding.

What had the jaguar God shown her? Prowl would be a parent.

Mitch sat up. JAZZ was his mate? Mitch shook her head. Her stomach churned with the sudden realization of the vision. The Jaguar God’s laughter only goaded her anger further.

That’s when the entire ship lurched sharply, causing everything to roll. Jazz grabbed his drink and slapped a hand over the rim before more of it could land on the humans around it. Trellis was already on his feet, shouting and receiving orders from his co workers.

The cry he received from the hall was less than perfect.

‘Decepticons! We are under Decepticon attack!’

Both versions of Ultra Magnus were on their feet, the Elite Guard Elder yanking his hammer from the clasp at the table and the Council Elder pulling a large staff from seemingly nowhere.

The jet twins were already out the door, their accented voice clear above the clammer of the ship. The humans dispersed equally fast, many of them grabbing alien weaponry from a throng of boxes. By the time everyone dispersed there was only Prowl, Jazz, Mitch and Eerrel standing in the conference room. Trellis was still outside the conference room door.

‘Orders, brother?’ he asked his sibling.

‘Prepare for take off.’ Jazz yelled back. ‘ We are not letting those bastards ruin everything.’


	11. Chapter 11

Mitch sat under the shadow of a large bridge, checking the amount of ammo she had left in her rifle. She swore at Teppy for the millionth time and snuck a peek at the battlefield reflection in the chunk of metal she was using as a mirror. Blasts exploded around her.

Things were not going well.

‘Fuck, Trellis, what the hell is going on down there?’ She snapped at the creature ducked a few feet from her. The Mecha hunched lower as pieces of debris filled the air again.

‘Same crap different pile as you flesh creatures say’ the Autobot security officer stated. ‘You think WE have it bad! Just got the message. Both Magnus’ are caught under Lugnut’s attention.’

‘The Twins?’

‘Who knows? They’re good at whatever they do. More than likely we’ll hear them before they contact us.’

In the distance she could make out a sea of Jazz’s other crew members strewn about Detroit’s ruined landscape. The Inderdimensional Protection Agency’s members were aiding civilians through the chaotic war scene.

Mitch barely heard Trellis’s comm beep in the noise. He was silent as he received the message internally. Then he swore.

‘Jazz’s up against Megatron!’

Mitch snarled. That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. Something no-one wanted to hear.

‘How those two get near each other?’

‘Followed Sari and the medic!’

‘Shit.’

‘First wave’s been breached! First clone wave breached!’ another mecha hollered in the distance. At least THAT plan was going right.

Sure, the Decepticons had hit without warning but it was how furious they repeated the attack that shocked the mecha around her. The idea had been, when the attack first started, that Ratchet and Sari would go with Jazz and hide the Allspark. If there was no hope, Sari would take her infected key and merge it with the Allspark. First her key then the Matrix as the key was already connected to the Allspark. Jazz had been less than impressed about leaving the Allspark unprotected and had made things clear - he was NOT going to let anyone near it that he himself wouldn’t trust. Then, with equal ferocity, had made it clear that Mitch nor Prowl were to travel alone even with Teppy supposedly covering their fur covered arses. The second plan had been simple. Protect the AllSpark from Decepticon paws and make sure they didn’t drag it across dimensions before Sari’s suitably infected key could merge energies with it. Turned out Megatron wanted the bloody AllSpark more than anyone anticipated. No one was sure if Megatron knew about Jazz’s matrix. If he did, the situation was even worse than they expected.

Mitch watched Trellis toss a grenade over his head, plugged what were his ears, and duck quickly. Mitch copied him.

The explosion that followed was tremendous. So was the sound of a jet flying overhead as it barely missed being turned into shrapnel. A second explosion tossed by another mecha followed closely behind it, knocking the jet sideways. It transformed awkwardly before it was slammed into the side of a tower, leaving a dent in the structure’s frame. The mecha slid several meters before falling to the ground in a crumpled and badly mangled heap. Behind that shot the jet twins in their combined form. Mitch wish she could have seen them combine under better circumstances.

Mitch snorted at the sight.

‘How many Fucking clones does that bastard Starscream have?’ She yelled at Trellis, desperate to be heard over another wave of gunfire.

‘Twelve remaining. You should see the female. I keep losing the dame. Stole someone’s cloaking device.’

Another explosion.

‘And Magnus?’

‘Still tangling with that big Purple guy.’ A pause. ‘Or is he blue? Personally I don’t give a shit. He’s big and ugly.’

Prowl’s universe contained the sneakiest bastard warriors Mitch had ever met. Loudest of them all was Starscream who had stockpiled enough clones to piss off even Eerrel. Eerrel rarely got mad and when she did, Mitch knew to stay out of her feathers. The bird lady was with Jazz’s hastily collected team, her job to help guard the AllSpark , Sari and they key while Mitch was stuck defending the building from numerous and very determined Decepticons. Despite Starscream’s blatant hatred of Megatron they managed to put their differences aside long enough to send the Clones after the ship. If that didn’t say how badly they wanted the infection for themselves, Mitch would have called a nay sayer a fool. From what Prowl had explained of his universe’s version of the Decepticon seeker, he was likely going to screw Megatron the first chance he got and take the infection for himself. Mitch had to laugh at that. Boy, were they going to be surprised when they discovered their place in Teppy’s plans!

‘Arbor’s down!’ A voice screamed in the distance.

Bloody fucking shit, Mitch swore, shaken out of her thoughts. Jazz was NOT going to like that. His best security officer down, perhaps dead.

‘What the hell is Teppy doing?’ Trellis asked Mitch, tossing another grenade over his shoulder. He ducked.

‘If I knew, I wouldn’t be here.’ Mitch said after the resulting hail of wreckage. ‘You of all Mechs should know he’s as predictable as a frigging cat and I don’t mean that as a Pun. He’s up to something again - he’s ALWAYS up to something - and I can’t fucking contact the bastard OR use his power to save our asses.’

On cue, Teppy appeared before the jaguar avatar, a wry grin on his face.

‘Where the HELL have you been?’ Mitch snapped, cocking her rifle. She caught sight of one of the clones and aimed. The otherworldly rifle went off with an electronic spray of laser fire. The clone spun, obviously pissed that he’d been targeted. It didn’t help that Mitch’s aim had severed several connections between its wing and torso.

Bastard won’t be able to transform after that, Mitch thought with some hope.

It was at this point Prowl appeared, too. At first she thought it was him actually standing behind something and running out to slam his wheel blades into the Decepticon clone. Then she saw another set shoot out from a location more befitting of his fighting style as the clone wheeled to meet the decoy. Just as the clone was to make contact with the ninja, the Autobot’s form disappeared allowing the real wheel blades to imbed in the Decepticon’s back. It screamed, then went down when another of Jazz’s security team shot hit true.

Teppy smiled at Mitch, his arms crossed his muscular chest.

‘Having fun yet?’

‘I’d tell you to go to hell, but you’re already here.’ Mitch sprayed more laser fire. ‘What the bloody shit have you been doing?’

‘Jazz had some issues with a Decepticon named Blitzwing.’

‘Three faces? The one you told me about a while back?’

Teppy handed the jaguar a ball of energy. It formed instantly between his fingers. ‘Yes’ he said.

‘What about Megatron?’

‘He’s ... being taken care of.’

‘TEPPY! Define ‘taken care of’.’

‘Jazz is a Matrix carrier. He can fight the Decepticon himself.’

‘And you handled Blitzwing. Isn’t that -’ An explosion and pained screams from one of Jazz’s crew. The cloaked female clone had found prey.

Mitch continued. ‘Isn’t that a bit screwed? Taking the easier target while leaving the weaker of you two fighting the God damn bull alone?’

Teppy simply shrugged. His calm, disinterested attitude was getting on Mitch’s nerves.

‘Hammer time, as you like to say.’ Teppy said, extending the energy ball towards the avatar again. When Mitch ignored him, he scowled. It wasn’t a look Mitch liked to see. ‘I’m here’ he said sternly. ‘ Take it or continue playing with Starscream’s toys alone.’

Mitch dropped the rifle she was using.

‘Why the fuck don’t you smite them all? Megatron included. You’re a God.’

‘I have plans.’

‘Yeah. I know. Plans plans, more frigging plans. What’s the bloody use of being an Avat-’

A female clone exploding cut her off.

‘Mitch,’ Teppy said calmly before she could continue. ‘Doing it your way would be too easy.’ He handed the ball of energy to the jaguar.

Mitch glared at the God, shook her head and grabbed the ball. It was warm and tingled her hand as she handled it.

‘You give me the frigging ability to smite with a thought and you won’t let me DO IT. Not in the heat of battle. Not when I need to shut someone up. Not when I Should be able to do shit.’ She threw the ball with supernatural strength. ‘You only give my half the tools I need.’ It landed with several bounces like a heavy grenade would have then fizzled out. ‘And then you pat me on the head and tell me that everything has a fucking purpose.’

‘Those that survive are needed for my ideals, Mitch. There are greater powers involved than what you realize. One day you’ll understand. ‘ With that he disappeared. As always, Teppy’s plans were only being partially exposed. As usual, he made no bloody sense.

The wave of energy that erupted from the fizzled out energy ball shook everything around it. The roar was unbearable and the Autobots around her dropped, covering themselves. Prowl was caught in mid leap and was shot back with the force of the eruption. It was like a nuclear blast without the heat or the damage. The majority of the clones evaporated cleanly in a haze of energy while those who’d been captured and were immobilized screamed in terror. Mitch saw Sentinel drop like a rock and the mecha who’d been in stasis cuffs evaporated in a clean puff. Things whirled in the force of the aftershock. Decepticons that had been flying fell from the sky and were slammed into the things they flew to avoid. Several tried valiantly to avoid crashing, only to land painfully, leaving a wide path of destruction. Several Decepticons that were not clones suddenly dropped to the ground, unconscious. The energy wave blasted through the city, eventually losing power as it hit its edges. Where the energy wave rippled it left a taint. Teppy’s energy merging plans had started. Some had died in the Smiting blast while others, for reasons that Mitch only dreamed to understand, had been left alive. There seemed to be no logic in the results except that those who survived had been immobilized enough to slow if not outright stop the battle.

Then there was silence. Mitch was the lone creature standing, completely unaffected by the chaos she’d released.

Trellis was the first to move. Whatever warfare that had been around them had evaporated with the energy blast. When it was clear that fighting wasn’t going to resume, he stood. Prowl rose slowly, too, brushing debris off himself. He held the cover of his spark chamber, apparently having wounded himself when landing. Around them the other security officers rose. Probis, the dark grey mecha. Oddball, the white and black officer and comedian-at-heart. In the distance Mitch could see Spindle helping a severely wounded Arbor rise. Arbor’s leg was torn open and his face was matted green with his own energon. He couldn’t move without help and by the looks of it, he couldn’t see. Sentinel was rising, confused to the whereabouts of the clone he had cuffed. In the distance she could see the marks of humans rising, some of the wounded suited workers helping the public out of the rubble.

Trellis stepped around Mitch, lowering the laser cannons on his arms.

‘Remind me not to piss off you or your God.’ He said, both in awe and disturbed by the chaos the jaguar had unleashed.

It didn’t take long for the survivors to rally. Next thing Mitch knew, she was being followed by Trellis, the security officer driving wildly through the halls of the building Jazz’s team was last seen. Optimus and Bumblebee were with them, the yellow and black Autobot helping Mitch trace their friends’ whereabouts. Signs of conflict were everywhere. Walls were torn with claw marks leaving deep rents in the plaster or outright missing where a body had been thrown through. Metal was dented, furniture smashed. Mitch floating ahead of the security officer and the young yellow Autobot, her eyes darting about as she searched for Jazz’s energy signal. Instead she caught whiff of Eerrel’s scent and abruptly darted into tunnel to follow it. The bird lady’s odor was hard to miss, the mix of feathers, herbs and energy easy to distinguish over those of blood, tar and laser charged air. Trellis, wheels squealing to keep up with the avatar, nearly rolled into a wall Mitch turned so suddenly. Bumblebee was more agile and easily shot around Jazz’s brother. Optimus followed behind on foot, his axe ready. No-one knew what they were about to discover.


	12. Chapter 12

While Mitch fought outside, Jazz felt like his ass was being whipped inside. The Decepticon challenging him was more dangerous than anything he’d ever encountered, even with his extensive dimensional travel experience. Eerrel was out cold, knocked unconscious by Megatron when she’d tried to pin him magically. Blitzwing was in a heap behind her, knocked cold by Teppy when he’d tried to push Jazz and Megatron’s fight in the large Decepticon’s favour.

Now that Blitzwing was out of the way, Jazz could focus on the dark mecha’s actions. They were cold. Calculating. Eerily calm. No screaming or endless bragging like some he had heard griping on the battlefield that day. Megatron - this world’s Megatron - was a true warlord in every sense of the title. He was nothing like the Decepticon namesake Jazz had grown to admire in his own dimension. That Decepticon was calculating and firm when he wanted, but that pointed chin leader had a playful and charismatic side, too. He wasn’t known for the death of entire mecha populations like this Decepticon was. Both were handsome in their own right but as different as Earth was from Cybertron. One was warm. The other was scarred and ripped up by war.

Jazz took a swipe at Megatron with his weapons, landing a blow to the Decepticon’s face. Megatron, snarling in return, threw the Autobot leader who expertly rolled to his feet again. The two leaders circled each other like wary predators, a persistent growl emanating from the Decepticon leader. Jazz was thankful yet again for his extensive Elite Guard experience and Trellis’ paranoid, anti assassination defense training.

‘Come now.’ Megatron taunted, his deep voice almost laughing. ‘I expected better of you.’

‘You’re trying too hard to annoy me.’ Jazz stated, his nun chucks ready for another thrashing.

‘You fight well for an Autobot.’

‘I’d take that as a compliment if you were not so determined to kill me.’

A pause. In the corner of his optics Jazz could see Sari and the Autobot Ratchet off to the side, struggling to open something. Sari was partially hidden behind Ratchet, who was busy with All Spark’s lock. He could hear their hurried whispers, the child’s worried comments acting as encouragement for the medic.

‘Why do you waste your time protecting these fools?’ Megatron said, catching Jazz’s quick glance. Another lunge that Jazz deflected with practiced skill. ‘ Your fate is already sealed.’

‘I don’t die so easily.’

‘Then you throw your life away recklessly.’

Jazz barely missed the angry blast from Megatron’s fusion cannon. He would have deflected it with his energy shield, but after seeing one of Starscream’s clones disintegrate after an attempted assassination of the dark leader, he wasn’t going to risk being caught behind anything Megatron threw at him. Megatron’s insults were carefully barbed and that was bad enough. He had every intention of bringing Jazz down verbally and physically.

Ratchet looked up, temporary distracted. He regained his composure quickly, unlocking the All Spark’s housing. Another of Megatron’s building shattering cannon blasts nearly knocked him and Sari off their feet, stalling their work. Sari screamed as Megatron targeted a blast at Ratchet and the medic barely ducked fast enough to save his chassis. Jazz grabbed the Decepticon’s arm in mid aim, sending the ball of flame to fry a hole in the room’s roof. Debris rained down, stalling Ratchet’s work even further.

‘Do you mind?’ the medic snapped. ‘The job’s hard enough as it is without you two trying to help!’

Then it was open. Sari jostled the key before she rushed over to plunge her infected key into the glowing ball of light. It transformed to fit the Spark’s key hole just before it was slammed in and a huge ripple of light escaped from both as they combined. Tendrils of yellow, crystalline taint started filling the room.

Jazz made a bad move when Megatron, horrified to see the AllSpark’s successful merger, paused. He rushed in to side kick the Decepticon but misjudged his angle by a fraction. He was instantly pinned. Megatron reached out to plant a choke hold on the Autobot leader, who dropped a nun chuck to defend his throat. Another kick and aim for the face but it was too late. Megatron lifted the white and black mecha by his neck and started to squeeze. Hard.

‘Ahh. ‘ The Decepticon said. ‘ Its a pity I didn’t get to fight you sooner. But I tire toying with you.’ He squeezed tighter. Jazz struggled hard against the Decepticon leader’s grip. He’d been in dire situations in the past but none had prepared him for the calculating hatred behind the Decepticon gripping him now. More squeezing, this time with both hands. Jazz could feel his neck start to fail under the stress of Megatron’s grasp and he clawed fruitlessly at the Decepticon’s constrictor-like grip. Jazz managed to twist his legs for a last kick and this time he struck true. With a single thrust he went for the Decepticon’s exposed elbow and the leader’s grip loosened. Another punch and he was dropped. Gasping, Jazz rolled when he hit the ground, wrenched the leader’s fusion cannon off his arm and fired the weapon at its owner. Megatron growled in surprised alarm before the explosion hit. The air lit up with the flame that followed and Megatron collapsed into a burned out heap. When Jazz was certain the Decepticon wouldn’t rise, he stumbled over to Ratchet and Sari. It was as if he couldn’t see and could only guess at their whereabouts.

‘Jazz!’ Sari cried, helping the mecha the best she could. ‘The Matrix! We have to combine the Matrix!’

The Autobot leader nodded. He opened his chest compartment, exposing the miniature form of the AllSpark hidden there. He pulled it out and before collapsing, exhausted, lay the relic at ratchet’s feet. The medic took it and lay down the larger ball of crystal. As it was set down, the AllSpark reached its energy out and drove its shining tentacles into the heart of the Matrix.

Immediately the room was slammed with a field of power that radiated from the combined energies. Ratchet stumbled with the force of the impact but managed to throw Jazz over his shoulder as a branch of electrical energy locked the two power sources together and eventually overtook them both. The power field rippled outwards, to the point of overriding everything surrounding it. Ratchet kept his back to the scene, shielding Jazz and Sari from the light that grew so bright that any attempts to block it out proved futile. Then an explosive roar erupted as Matrix released its power into the universe. The wave that shot forth was awesome. Someone in the distance screamed but their voice was shattered by the hum of the combined energies. The light only seemed to grow in intensity, lingering for what felt like an eternity, blanketing everything with a blazing white-out comparable to a star going nova. Then the light was gone. Ratchet, eyes still unable to focus and static filling his vision, blinked. He tried to regain his bearings but stumbled instead. Sari did the same but was distracted by the colourful spots she kept seeing. She pawed at both mechas and tripped over Jazz’s leg. Jazz didn’t move at first. When Ratchet went to check his stasis, the Autobot leader roused and groaned. His hand shot to his throat, fingering the ridges that were still there.

‘Good Job.’ Ratchet said with a sharp slap on the Autobot leader’s back. The normally grouchy medic sported an honest smile for a change.

‘Yrr’h. Had s’m help.’ Jazz managed to choke up. He wanted to say more, even a thank you, but he couldn’t form the words. He swallowed hard, the very act of it painful. Knowing his effort was futile he reached out and blindly rose to inspect the two power sources. Ratchet helped the Autobot commander to the AllSpark, which still glowed. It had a curious blue tint to it now. Jazz desperately sought his relic and was visibly relieved when ratchet placed it in his hands. The Matrix’s centre chamber was barren, something that Jazz could feel even though he was blind. When Jazz lifted it, though, he sensed the crystals within its heart were slowly regaining their shimmer. He estimated that the amount of power released by the Matrix alone was enough to light several cybertron megtropolises. He prayed Primus’ influence over the Matrix hadn’t been lost when the two relics combined.

At this point Mitch floated through one of the numerous blast holes in the room’s walls. Behind her Jazz heard the unmistakable sound of Trellis as he rolled up behind her, followed by Bumblebee’s angry chattering and Optimus Prime’s worried questions. From the half hazard way they all walked after transforming, everyone figured they all had suffered temporary blindness from the energy release, too. The only one unaffected was Mitch.

‘Jesus mother of Muphy..’ Mitch said, landing skilfully. ‘I thought Teppy’s shit was impressive! I would ask if you saw what that blast did, but...’ she waved a hand in front of Ratchet’s face. ‘But you can barely see the shine at the end of your nose!

Jazz shrugged, his version of agreeing with the jaguar avatar.

Ratchet, now in healer mode, went to Jazz’s side and lifted the leader’s chin to examine the wounds on his neck.

‘I can patch that up for you. We’ll have to wait until we get back to base. I don’t have my - ‘

Jazz shook his head and gently pushed the medic away.

‘I okay’ he said, taking his time to form the words. ‘Matrix heps.’ He broke out in choking sputters, his hand immediately at his throat again.

Sari scowled at her friends and warily avoided Megatron’s form as she passed his body. The Decepticon didn’t appear dead but hadn’t roused since being fired on. She hastily made her way to the All Spark and pulled her key from its side. She couldn’t resist the Matrix’s allure and gently tapped it. She then leaned as close as she could get to it, eyeing its internal structures. Ratchet rescued the Matrix from her curious probing.

‘Is the Matrix okay?’ she asked, giving the Autobot leader one of her side long gazes. She may have been only eight, but she was incredibly quick on her feet when observing her surroundings. She had not missed the returning glow in the relic’s crystal centre.

Jazz gave a single, depressed nod and lifted the Matrix back into his chest. His mood visibly brightened once it was in place and he took the time to settle against a wall, a hand on his forehead. He lifted off his visor. For the first time any of his companions had seen him, with the exception of his brother, they could see his optics. While most mecha had a pair of perfect colored glass optic covers, Jazz sported one pale blue and one white cloudy optic. He looked stressed, more so than anyone had ever seen him since Eerrel invited him to help Prowl. Trellis and Optimus were immediately at his side, encouraging him with calm whispers.

‘What do we do now?’ Ratchet said, eyeing the commander with a critical stare.

Mitch, for once, was unable to answer. She swept the room and its occupants, including Eerrel who still lay crumpled in a wounded heap. Mitch walked to the bird-lady to prop her up. The jaguar worked silently as she tore her uniform to bandage a jagged gash on Eerrel’s forearm.

‘At this point,’ Mitch finally said, ‘we wait for the infection to spread. The energy will heal some of the damage done today but its a waiting game.’ It was always a waiting game when Gods were involved.

‘And how long before we know it’s done its job?’ Ratchet said. He went to Jazz’s side to clean the neck wound but was rudely pushed off. An equally impolite thump from Trellis caused the Autobot leader to back down and tolerate Ratchet’s probing fingers. Jazz flinched sharply until Ratchet numbed the work with one of his numerous medical gadgets.

Mitch shrugged at the medic’s question.

‘Sometimes it takes decades, sometimes it takes billions of years. Who knows. You’ll know a world’s been infected though.’

Jazz cocked his head in Mitch’s direction. He knew the signs, too. Megatron - HIS Megatron had been touched by the taint, too. The whole planet Jazz commanded had already been touched by it. It started with the ability to see change from a distance and sense hope on another level. And evil could not last forever. While there was room for darkness there was something out there that commanded it and demanded its attention. Something that called the soul to have the darkness removed and balance restored.

‘You mind spilling the details?’ Ratchet grumped.

Mitch motioned towards Blitzwing, not answering the medic. He would learn the signs soon enough.

‘He’ll be in pain when he wakes.’

‘I already am.’ said an accented voice.

Mitch cocked her head and spread her whiskers in mild confusion. She was wary when she heard a click. Answering the first voice came a tired reply. ‘Not you’re not.’

A click. ‘yes I am.’

Mitch stood taller and eventually floated several feet off the ground to view the source of the two voices.

‘What the fuck?’

The argument came from none other than Blitzwing. Whether the voices meant they were in pain or they were awake she didn’t know. Didn’t care. She flexed herself, about to engage in combat but backed down when it became clear Blitzwing couldn’t move. It was the first time she had seen the three faced mecha up close. Each click was the purple mecha’s face switching. The tired voice was the more handsome of the two with a single scope where his left eye would have been. The other was definitely what she’d call crazy. Each face had a different personality and the two faces currently flicking back and forth were definitely arguing. Suddenly a third face appeared, telling the other two to shut up in what sounded like a seriously pissed Arnold Schwarzenegger voice.

‘Wow.’ She cocked a furry eyebrow. An evil grin appeared on her face. ‘This is going to be fun to show Frank and Eddie when I get home!’ Mitch let out a girlish squeak, the evil grin making her look truly feral. She turned to the others behind her. ‘Is he always like this?’

In unison came the reply from Sari, Ratchet, Bumblebee and Optimus.

‘Yes.’

‘How long has he been like this?’

‘Four million solar cycles of servitude’ came Blitzwing’s crazy reply.

‘Bonus.’ Mitch laughed. ‘You my dear, I need pictures of.’ She started digging though the piles of random items in her jacket, looking for her cell. Out came the camera phone and she dropped to her feet from the height she floated from. Several flashes erupted forth as she dropped.

Jazz chuckled at the whole fiasco, a grating sound coming from his normally smooth voice. Trellis, satisfied that his brother was better, patted the commander on his shoulder and rose to inspect the surroundings. He pulled a set of stasis cuffs out of a subspace pocket and threw them over Megatron’s wrists. He then picked up the Decepticon’s fusion cannon and strung it to a magnetic weapons collector cartridge on his back. He then radioed his fellow security officers for updates.

Mitch, after putting the phone away, helped Trellis with his room search. There was still a lot of work ahead. Eerrel was going to need medical help and Teppy... well, Teppy’s convoluted view of the universe was going to solidify into something she understood one day. The infection, now that it was successful, meant every mecha on Cybertron was going to endure what Prowl had endured though to a less dramatic degree. Mitch hoped that Teppy was gentle with the universes. How Teppy was going to handle an entire planet of post adolescent teenagers Mitch didn’t know. The thought of an amorous Elite Guard’s Ultra Magnus chasing Sentinel Prime through the halls of the Asylum 5 made Mitch giggle. After the shit Sentinel pulled on everyone, she figured it served the bastard right. The thought of the panicked Prime firing off screaming prayers to teppy as he fled the Elite Elder’s advances made her giggle even harder.

And for the first time that day Mitch hummed a cheerful tune, the thought of Sentinel biting Teppy’s ass making her very very happy.


	13. Chapter 13

NOTE: Seems FF.net lied when it told me this chapter was loaded and instead I had chapter 12 loaded twice! Growl! Problem solved! Thanks to Saotome Ranma for pointing out the situation :-D

**** **** ****

Mitch stood at the base of Prowl’s tree, her arms crossed over her chest. She could hear the occasional grunt and quiet laugh from the pair of mecha that sat among its leaves. She was torn between wanting to speak with them and leaving considering her time constraints. Eerrel was behind her, the pack dragons ready and resupplied.

Instead she cleared her throat loudly.

Immediately there was a panicked shuffling of metal on wood and Jazz appeared, face down from the bottom set of branches. From the scuff marks on his chassis she could imagine what the pair were doing in the old tree’s canopy.

‘I hate to disturb you two but, the doors have finally alligned. Eerrel and I got to take this door or We’ll never get out of this dimension.’

‘Already?’Jazz said, grin fading slightly. ‘How long you going to be gone?’

‘You know me. Depends on when Teppy needs me. It’ll be nice seeing the ranch again. The smell of cattle dung and unwashed tack. Perfect!’ she accented the last part of her comment with sarcasm. A pause. ‘You know I’ll visit. I always visit.’

Jazz swung easily out of the tree and he knelt to give the avatar a hug. Mitch could hear Prowl climbing down to say his goodbyes also.

‘Ratchet did a great job repairing you.’ Mitch said, playfully swatting the white Autobot commander on the car hood that made up his chest.

‘Yeah he did.’

‘Seeing better, too, I’m glad to notice.’

‘Yeah. Like you said, Ratchet did a great job. Going to need a better visor, though.’ He lifted the band of blue glass-like material so Mitch could see the way Ratchet reconnected the visor to the optic nerve sensors at each side of his helm. It was a valiant effort but the visor needed to be replaced, especially after the damage Megatron had caused. Mitch quietly studied Jazz’s cloudy eye before pulling away.

‘Take care of him, Prowl.’

‘I will.’

‘Bee’s already starting his upgrades.’ Mitch said. She scratched her head with a claw. ‘ Gotta thank Teppy for letting the energy taint being easy on him. For being easy on everyone. Bad enough cross dimensional travel buggers up your biologies, even worse if it happens in your home dimension and you can’t escape the effects. Best if everyone gets the changes slow.’

‘We’re educating him, so no worries there.’ Prowl gave the avatar a finger to shake.

Jazz grunted, holding back a smirk.

‘Sari’s been laughing at him the whole time. ’

Mitch shook her head.

‘Yeah. That’s... Going to be interesting to hear about when I visit. Make sure you keep tabs on what happens.’

‘Bulkhead already is.’

Mitch was distracted when Eerrel tapped her wrist. They were running out of time.

‘And um... Jazz?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Don’t bruise Prowl’s spark chamber again. I know you two are wanting to bond and all that, but Ratchet’s still annoyed with you for that last stint you two played. He says you’re giving Bumblebee ideas.’

‘Bumblebee doesn’t need me to get ideas.’ Jazz chirped back. ‘ He’s got Optimus.’

‘I won’t ask and I don’t want to know.’

‘I don’t think Optimus wants anyone to know.’


End file.
